


AND 





r? 




} 



"Hf 





Class. I K 3 51 

Book lLjI^s. 



Copyright }l^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. 




WILLIAM RIDDLE. 



ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY 
YEARS OF SCHOOL HISTORY 

IN 

LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA 



BY 

WILLIAM RIDDLE 



MIIHDK OF 



'Nicholas Comenius, or ye Pennsylvania Schoolmaster of ye Olden Time' 



mUb 78 iplates 



LANCASTER, PA. 
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 

1905 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
fwu Oopies rteceiveu 

jun 8 »yo5 

UutSS CL XAc. Not 

//^ ^ ^ '^ 
COPY B. 



Copyright, 1905 
Pa' WILLIAM RIDDLE 



Press of 

The New Era Printing Company 

Lanosier. Pa. 



DEDICATED 

TO THE 

DIRECTORS AND TEACHERS 
OF LANCASTER CITY 



PREFACE. 

Nearly a tliird of a century ago, in searching through a 
mass of discarded councilmanic proceedings on the second floor 
of the " Station House," the author accidentally came into pos- 
session of a half dozen time-worn record hooks, containing the 
deliberations of the Lancaster City School Hoard from 1838 
down to 1878. Culled from the contents of these resurrected 
volumes, a hastily-Avritten article was contributed to the Sun- 
day edition of the n.vaiiiiiicr and Express of January 25, 1880 — 
possibly the first authentic sketch to appear in the public prints 
bearing on our local system of schools. Considered of some 
importance, it was later inserted in Peck and Everts' " History 
of Lancaster County." A year ago, a second article was pre- 
pared and read before the " Lancaster County Historical So- 
ciety," from which the present volume had its beginning. 
Along in the eighties, a series of sketches on the various school 
officers were w^ritten by the late J. M. Johnston for the Intel- 
ligencer. To these the author is largely indebted for nuKdi 
valuable information. 

In the prospectus issued during the year 1904, the author 
took occasion to say, " I have undertaken to publish a compre- 
hensive history of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with incidental ref- 
erence to the schools of our county and state. Attention will be 
given to the early church schools of the citv and their influence ; 
to the period of the so-called charity schools, forerunners of the 
common school system and to the development of the latter 
from the time of its adoption by the Legislature in 1834. In 

vii 



Vlll 



PREFACE. 



addition, there will be included sketches and half-tone plates 
of the eighteen presidents, fourteen secretaries and six treas- 
urers, covering a period of sixty-seven years. The expansion 
and development of the course of study, the diverse personal- 
ities of the teachers, the political and personal changes in the 
school board, the financial administration of the system, the 
relation of directors to teachers and schools, of teachers to 
pupils and parents ; and of this branch of popular government 
to other departments of civic life and municipal development 
will be reviewed. The conscientious aim of the author will be 
to relate all the important events and to tell faithfully the 
story of education in Lancaster. The work, it is hoped, will 
be of permanent value, being written not as a financial venture, 
but rather as a gratuitous contribution to local history." 

In how far the author has fulfilled his mission, after a year 
of search and research among more than five thousand pages 
of time-worn records of other days, is for the intelligent, sym- 
pathetic reader to determine. As the free school system is the 
common heritage of all, so this work has been written to 
meet every phase of public opinion, with the hope, that sufficient 
of value may be gleaned from its pages to cause the reader 
to appreciate more fully the manifold blessings which the free 
schools have so bountifully provided for the youth of our 
city, county and state. 

To the Lancaster City School Board who gave the author 
substantial aid, as well as to all our friends who have given 
encouragement in the preparation of this work, we extend our 

hearty thanks. 

William Riddle. 
May is, 1905. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The patrons of this work, who encouraged and stimulated 
the author of it to prepare and publish a history of education 
in the Cit>- of Lancaster, have no occasion to apologize for or 
to regret the undertaking. The education of a people is at 
all times a very large share of their history ; and to trace the 
men who, and the intluences which, developed, organized and 
operated the educational forces of a community is in a large 
measure to set forth the history of that section of our county, 
our Commonwealth and our country. James Russel Lowell 
says : " It was in making education not only common to all, 
but in some sense compulsory on all, that the destiny of the 
free repul)lics of America was practically settled." 

During the past decade a great impulse has been given to the 
study and publication of our local history. It has come to be 
recognized that the investigation of it in detail must precede 
the fashioning by some master hand of this material into a 
compact and well-proportioned story of a great county, and 
of its most interesting and historic shire-town. 

The many monographs which have enriched the proceedings 
of the Lancaster County Historical Society have, each and all, 
no less immeasurable permanent value than passing popular 
interest. Originally projected as such a casual paper, the story 
of the schools of Lancaster grew into a volume. To have 
razeed it into a mere sketch would have been to discard and 
possibly forever lost annals that years (and even centuries) 
hence posterity would have vainly sought with labor and ex- 
pense to recall and restore. 



X INTRODUCTION. 

Fortunately this task fell into fit hands. For more than half 
a century the author of this work, as hoy and man, as pupil, 
teacher, school director and dispenser of educational needs, 
has been identified with the common school system of Lancaster 
County. He can fairly say, as yEneas of old, retelling- the 
story of Troy : " Much of which I saw, and part of which 
I was." 

He has rescued from the danger of oblivion records telling 
with accuracy the complete story of the Pennsylvania common 
school system in a city which has grown, since the adoption of 
that system, from a population of less than 8,000 in 1838, to 
nearly 50,000 in 1904; from an investment of $7,000 in school 
property during the same period, to more than $700,000 sixty- 
seven years later ; from 700 pupils at the opening of the schools 
of 1838, to 6,000 in 1904; and from 16 teachers to 120 on the 
present roll of the Lancaster School Board. 

He has traced the development of the curriculum and the 
broadening of the courses of study, until " the poor man's free 
school " has become " the people's college." The progress that 
has been made in hygiene and the laws of sanitation, as applied 
to the buildings and equipment of the common schools, is here 
depicted. Contrasts and improvements in school architecture 
and apparatus are set forth from the view-point of one with 
practical and mechanical ideas. The clash and contiict of par- 
tisan and political interests in school control are sketched with 
discriminating and impartial analysis of men and motives. 

I kit he has done nnich more. He has linked the earlier his- 
tory of education in Lancaster city and county wdth the story 
of the system founded by the State; he has given fair credit 



INTRODUCTION. xi 

to the church schools and the incalciilahlc work of reHj:^ions 
bodies in nicjulchni;- the cnUure and character of our youth; 
he has emphasized the fact that no town in all the State by 
the personality of its educators — Bnrrowes, Crumbauoh, Wick- 
ersham, Higbee, McCaskey and Schaeffer — has been so con- 
spicuous in the cause of popular education as Lancaster; that 
no county has been better represented in the work of those 
twin forces of po]nilar education, the Normal School and the 
" small college," than our own, by Millersville State Normal 
School and Franklin and Marshall College; and, finally, he 
relates how for three generations the leading citizens of Lan- 
caster, men representative of its best business and profes- 
sional life, have, unselfishly and without reward, given their 
time, their genius and their labor to the education of the boys 
and girls of the people among whom they dwelt. Pen and 
pencil, author and artist, have been artistically and intelligently 
employed to tell the story of the lives of the members of the 
Lancaster City School Board ; to depict their features and to 
perpetuate their words and works. The long roll of teachers ; 
the faithful record of their labors, and the fit appreciation of 
their infiuence enhance the value of this work. Mewed, there- 
fore, from whatever standpoint, I connnend it as a faithful 
historical record, a graphic narrative and a sympathetic appre- 
ciation of interests second only to the religious life of a great 
conmninity. No school library in the county or Commonwealth 
• is complete without it. It is a good work well done ; and more 
than that need not be said of anything this side of the river. 

\V. U. Hensel. 
May 20, 1905. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. Page. 

Early Chukch and Private Schools • i 

CHAPTER H. 
The Lancasterian System I9 

CHAPTER HI. 
Lafayette's Vlsit 34 

CHAPTER IV. 
James Buchan.vn's Prophecy 4.3 

CHAPTER V. 
Lancaster Accepts "^ 

CHAPTER VI. 
Monitorial S ysteisi Abandoned So 

CHAPTER VH. 
Rules and Regulations 93 

CHAPTER VHI. 
Ways and Means lO/ 

CHAPTER IX. 
Ownership of Lancasterian Building I2i 

CHAPTER X. 
Passing of the Old Academies ^33 

CHAPTER XI. 

New School Charter 151 

xiii 



xiv CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIL 
The Rev. John S. Ckumb.\ugh 167 

CHAPTER XHI. 
The Schoolmaster on the Hnx 185 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Thomas H. Burrowes, the Sixth President 203 

CHAPTER XV. 
Dawning of the War Period 219 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Newton Lightner, the Eighth President 234 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Combined German-English Schools 257 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
A Glance at Rural Districts 274 

CHAPTER XIX. 
John W. Jackson, the Eleventh President 288 



CHAPTER XX. 
Erection of a High School 303 

CHAPTER XXI. 
New School Houses for Lancaster City 321 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Daniel G. Baker, the Fourteenth President ^^y 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
A Question of Local Jurisdiction 347 



CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Adjustment of Teachers' Salaries 362 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Tribute to the Memory of Dr. E. E. Higbee 378 

CHAPTER XXVI 
Indications of a Greater Lancaster 391 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
The Stevens High School 406 

APPENDIX. 
List of Directors 423 

List of Teachers. 427 

List of Members of the Alumni Association 432 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Author Frontispiece. 

William Penn i 

Adam Reigart 4 

John F. Steinman 7 

Rev. Samuel Bowman 9 

Benjamin Franklin 11 

Franklin College 12 

Dr. John L. Atlee 14 

Dr. Samuel Humes 17 

Christopher Hager 19 

Lancasterian School Build- 
ing 22 

John Baer 22 

J. Barrett Kerfoot's Address 

TO Lafayette 34 

William Augustus Muhlen- 
berg, D.D 36 

Dr. Frederick Augustus 

Muhlenberg 37 

General Lafayette 38 

Amos Slaymaker 39 

James Buchanan 42 

Thaddeus Stevens (1835).... 48 
George Wolf, Governor from 

1829 to 183s 52 

Joseph Ritner, Governor from 

1835 to 1839 54 

Samuel F. Dale 61 

The Old Court House — 1787- 

1853 63 

John King Findlay 64 

George Musser 73 

Louis C. Jungerich 75 

Old School Buildings, South 

Duke Street 90 

John Mathiot no 

Robert Moderwell 112 

John W. Forney 1x5 

John Zimmerman 117 

Peter M'Conomy 118 

George M. Steinman 119 

Rev. John S. Crumbaugh 167 

Common School Celebration 

Program 172 

Evening Program, Common 

Schools Diploma 173 

John Piersol McCaskey 177 

Rev. John C. Baker 194 



Samuel O. Nourse 196 

Hon. Thomas H. Burrowes. . . 202 

William B. Wiley 204 

Rev. Bernhard Keenan 206 

Hon. a. L. Hayes 208 

Newton Lightner 234 

H. S. Gara 236 

Hon. J. B. Livingston 242 

William P. Brinton 257 

Frederick S. Pyfer 258 

Miss Christie Musser 268 

The Children's Home 286 

William A. Morton 288 

John W. Jackson 289 

Charles F. Eberman 291 

John L Hartman 308 

Boys' and Girls' High School, 

1876 311 

John B. Warfel 315 

\'Villiam O. Marshall 318 

City Superintendent R. K. 

BUEHRLE 330 

East Lemon Street School, 

1881 335 

Daniel G. Baker 337 

Dr. John Levergood 347 

George W. Zecher 350 

J. M. Johnston 353 

Thomas F. McElligott 362 

Miss Maria E. Gill 368 

Hon. J. P. Wickersham 378 

Dr. D. R. McCormick 383 

Dr. E. E. Higbee 389 

South Duke Street School 

Building, 1892 394 

South Mulberry St. School, 

1892 395 

Hon. David McMullen 396 

George Forrest 400 

Interior Strawberry Street 

School 402 

H. A. Schroyer 409 

Miss Matilda Zug 412 

The Stevens High School... 414 

Thaddeus Stevens 41 5 

Nathan C. Schaeffer 418 

Lancaster High School Or- 
chestra 420 



XVI 



r^trfctors of Lancadtci* Citj? ^cbool ^onrU, 1904 5. 



GEORGE N. ALLEBACH, 
J. C. BROCK, 
DR. R. M. BOLENIUS. 
JOHN BUCHER, 
JOHN C. CARTER, 
HENRY CARPENTER, 
F. M. DORWART, 

C. E. DOWNEY, 
B. F. DAVIS, 

F. S. EVERTS, 
GEORGE FORREST, 
R. T. FARVER, 
W. W. GRIEST, 
JOHN J. JEFFRES, 

D. E. LONG, 

W. O. MARSHALL, 
W. H. McCOMSEY, 
DR. D. R. McCORMICK, 



THOMAS McELLIGOTT, 
REV. EMIL MEISTER, 
DAVID McMULLEN, 
CHARLES NICKEL, 
W. D. E. POISAL, 
JACOB PONTZ, 
FRED. S. PYFER, 
E. D. REILLY, 
DR. OLIVER ROLAND, 
W. H. ROLAND, 
SIMON SHISSLER, 

A. H. SCHROYER, 
P. E. SLAYMAKER, 

B. F. TROUT, 
JOHN B. WARFEL, 
PETER N. WOHLSEN, JR. 
CHARLES WINGENDER, 
A. C. WELCHANS. 



XVll 



©rpni^atian of tl)c ^oarti, 1S3S. 



ADAM REIGART, President. JOHN YOST, Tax Collector. 

JOHN K. FINDLAY, Secretary. MATHIAS ZAHM. Messenger. 

GEORGE MUSSER, Treasurer. 

Superintendence Committee. 

REV. SAMUEL BOWMAN, Cluiinitan. 
REV. BERNHARD KEENAN, DR. F. A. MUHLENBERG, 

DR. JOHN L. ATLEE, DR. SAMUEL HUMES. 

Committee on Rules and Regulations. 
REV. J. T. MARSHALL DAVIE, Chairman. 
CHRISTOPHER HAGER, JOHN R. MONTGOMERY, 

JOHN BAER, WILLIAM COOPER. 

Committee on Ways and Means. 

DR. JOHN L. ATLEE, Chairman. 
REV. BERNHARD KEENAN, JOHN F. STEINMAN, 

DR. F. A. MUHLENBERG, SAMUEL F. DALE. 

Personal Property-Tax Committee. 
PETER M'CONOMY, Chairman, 
JOHN ZIMMERMAN, DAVID COCKLEY, 

PETER G. EBERMAN, JOHN MATHIOT. 

Members of the Lancaster City School Board in 1838. 

GEORGE MUSSER, 

GEORGE H. KRUG, 

WILLIAM COOPER, 

REV. SAMUEL BOWMAN, 

DR. F. A. MUHLENBERG, 

ADAM REIGART, 

REV. J T. MARSHALL DAVIE, 

REV. BERNHARD KEENAN, 

DR. SAMUEL HUMES, 

DR. JOHN L. ATLEE, 

JOHN MATHIOT, 

JOHN R. MONTGOMERY, 

JOHN ZIMMERMAN, 



SAMUEL F. DALE, 
JOHN F. STEINMAN, 
CHRISTOPHER HAGER, 
LOUIS C. JUNGERICH, 
JOHN BAER, 
HENRY KEFFER, 
JOHN EBERMAN, 
PETER M'CONOMY, 
DAVID COCKLEY, 
JOHN K. FINDLAY, 
JOHN ROHRER, 
PETER G. EBERMAN. 



XVlll 



©rpnt^ation of tl)c ^oarU, JliJotjcinfacr, 1904. 



DAVID M'MULLEN, President. GEORGE FORREST, Secretary. 

H. A. SCHROYER, Treasurer. 

.f'tanbing Committees: 
Superintending Committee. 
JOHN B. WARFEL, Chairman, 
DR. D. R. M'CORMICK, DR. OLIVER ROLAND, 

WM. O. MARSHALL, THOS. F. M'ELLIGOTT. 

Finance Committee. 

JOHN C. CARTER, Chairman, 
P. E. SLAYMAKER, E. D. REILLY. 

Building and Grounds Committee. 

F. S. EVERTS, Chairman, 
JOHN J. JEFFRIES, W. H. M'COMSEY, 

DAVID D. LONG, CHARLES WINGENDER. 

School Law and Compulsary Education Committee. 

B. F. DAVIS, Chairman, 
HENRY CARPENTER, F. B. TROUT. 

Committee on Text Books and Course of Instruction. 
DR. R. M. BOLENIUS, Chairman, 
J. C. BROCK, CHARLES E. DOWNEY, 

REV. EMIL MEISTER, SIMON SHISSLER. 

Committee on Furniture and Apparatus. 
JACOB PONTZ, Chairman, 
G. N. ALLABACH, PETER N. WOHLSEN, JR. 

Committee on Soldiers' Orphans and Home for Friendless Children. 
JOHN BUCHER, Chairman, 
CHARLES NICKEL, FRED. S. PYFER. 

Committee on Night Schools. 

D. W. E. POISAL, Chairman, 
R. T. FARVER. REV. EMIL MEISTER, 

F. M. DORWART, A. C. WELCHANS. 

Committee on Hygiene. 

DR. D. R. M'CORMICK, Chairman, 
DR. OLIVER ROLAND, FRED. S. PYFER. 

Committee on Printing. 

PETER N. WOHLSEN, JR., Chairman. 
HENRY CARPENTER, JOHN BUCHER. 

xix 



CHAPTER I. 

EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

Penn's Plan of Education— Act of Assembly— Lancaster in 1729— 
Church and School-house — Germans — Subscriptions to Support of Ad- 
vanced Teacher, Samuel Magraw — Jacob Loeser — Franklin College — 
Marshall College — Curriculum in the Twenties — Various Private Schools 
Opened — German and English Education. 

To revive historic memories, to perpettiate tlie deeds of noble 
men and women who in times past devoted their best years 
to the cause of popular education, and to bring about a fuller 
appreciation of the causes which have contributed so largely 
to our prosperity as a people — our solid and triumphant suc- 
cess in religion, in morality, in education, as well as in all 
things conducive to happiness — this volume has been written. 

More than a half century ago, the first reliable historian of 
Lancaster county gave expression to the following prophetic 
words : " The permanency of all republics depends upon the 
enlightenment of the masses ; and to the extent that their edu- 
cation is encouraged or neglected, so will their foundation be 
sure and stable or loose and unsettled." This idea, so forcibly 
expressed, was not even at that time entirely new ; it had been 
promulgated centuries before — to be accepted l)y the few. But 
the multitude, moved by the blind leaders of the blind, stood 
ever ready to yield to the mistaken notion that the education of 
the people at large was an impracticable dream. 

With the development of this idea, extending back to re- 
mote times, it is not the purpose of the writer to deal. It is 
safe to assume, however, that with the landing of William 
Penn on the shores of the Delaware the good seed was sown. 
This seed, well watered and nourished, took deep root in the 
hearts of the settlers, and by slow degrees developed into the 
1 1 



2 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

grandest system of free schools that has ever blessed the 
descendants of a liberty-loving- people. 

The two treaties of love and friendship made with the red 
men of the forest — the one nnder the open sky by the Delaware, 
the other on the banks of our own Susquehanna — though not 
confirmed by oath, nor ratified by seals and signatures, were 
kept inviolate. These two treaties were the very foundation 
upon which rests that enlightened public sentiment, that fervid, 
religious conviction, which has guided and directed the good 
people of Lancaster for nearly two centuries. 

In his work entitled "Reflections and Maxims," William 
Penn presents some very admirable thoughts on education ; 
thoughts as potent to-day as they were two hundred years ago. 
Indeed, as we review the history of his life, we are surprised 
at the author's far-seeing grasp of educational needs. 

" The world," he wrote at that early day, " is certainly a 
great and stately volume of natural things and may not be 
improperly styled the hieroglyphic of a letter ; but alas ! how 
few leaves of it do we seriously turn over ! This ought to be 
the subject of education of our youth who, at twenty, when 
they should fit themselves for business, know little or nothing 
of it. We are in pain to make them scholars but not men ; to 
talk rather than to know, which is true canting. The first 
thing obvious to children is what is sensible ; and that we make 
no part of their rudiments. We press their memory too soon, 
and puzzle and load them with words and rules to know gram- 
mar and rhetoric, and a strange tongue or two, that it is ten to 
one may never be useful to them." 

" To be sure," he continues, " languages are not to be de- 
spised or neglected ; but things are still to be preferred. 
Children had rather be making tools and instruments of play, 
shaping, drawing, framing, building, etc., than getting some 
rules of propriety of speech by heart ; and these would also 
follow with more judgment, and less trouble in time. It were 




WILLIAM PENN. 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 3 

hajipv if we studied nature more in natural things; and acted 
according to nature, whose rules are few, plain and reason- 
able." 

Of the numerous laws passed by the General Assembly 
which met at Chester a short time after Penn's arrival, none 
evince a broader educational spirit than the following provi- 
sion : 

"That, to the end that the poor as well as the rich may be 
instructed in good and commendable learning, which is to be 
preferred before wealth, 

'^Bc if cnacfcd. That all persons in this province and terri- 
tories thereof, having children, and all guardians and trustees of 
orphans, shall cause them to be instructed in reading and writ- 
ing, so that they may l)e al^le to read the Scriptures, and to write 
by the time they attain the age of twelve ; and then they be 
taught some useful trade or skill — that the poor may work to 
live, and the rich if they become poor may not want ; of which 
every county court shall take care. .And in case such parents, 
guardians or overseers shall be found deficient in this respect, 
every such parent or guardian shall pay for every such child 
five pounds, except there should appear an incapacity in body 
or in understanding to hinder it." 

It is evident then, that the law-makers who passed this 
enactment contemplated the establishment of schools under 
public authority throughout the province and territories. 
They recogifizecl the prime need of the young becoming good 
citizens, and required them to become acquainted in the 
schools, " with the laws b_\' which they were governed." 
Strange as it may seem, it took the Pennsylvania Legislature 
more than two hundred years to reenact this old law of the 
first Assembly. But only recently has it done so, in the " Com- 
pulsory Attendance Act," which requires all children in the 
commonwealth to attend school for a certain period during the 
year. 



4 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Too much stress cannot be laid upon this old-time enact- 
ment, which was allowed to slumber on the shelves for so 
many years. All children, it will be noticed, were required 
to be instructed in reading" and writing by the time they were 
twelve years of age ; they were also to be taught some useful 
trade — all this under a penalty of five pounds, a real hardship 
at that time. That this law, after remaining in force ten 
years, was abrogated by William and Mary of England, in no 
way afifects the principle upon which it was based. However, 
it was reenacted by Governor Fletcher in 1693, by and with 
the advice of the representatives of the Province ; and although 
it became a " dead letter/' there is no evidence that it was 
ever repealed. 

If the facts above set forth appear irrelevant to a history 
of the schools of Lancaster, it should ever be remembered 
that before the common school system can be thoroughl}- 
understood, it is necessary first to ascertain the underlying 
conditions which preceded or were coincident with the enact- 
ment of the law of the General Assembly. And furthermore, 
let it be understood at the very beginning of the story, that 
the free school system is by no means the invention or dis- 
covery of the master minds of the past seventy years. We 
admit, that the law creating the free schools was passed in the 
year 1834, and all its numerous supplements during later 
years. But the seed from which it sprang into existence was 
scattered broadcast throughout the province nearly two cen- 
turies before, awaiting a favorable epoch to burst forth and 
blossom. 

To a much earlier date than this closing year 1904, I now 
ask the reader to journey with me. We shall find the Lan- 
caster of today a mere hamlet in the year 1729 when the old 
town was first laid out by James Hamilton. This is the same 
Hamilton whose name has become so familiar to our citizens 
and with whose estate many have been compelled to settle 
their annual "Tound-rcnt tax. 




JOHN F. STEINMAN. 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 5 

Near the Square, where now looms our Soldier's Monument, 
stood, long years ago, according to tradition, a hickory tree. 
Historian Harbaugh mentions a creditalile tradition that the 
bell of the Reformed Church, when it was first procured, hung 
for some time upon a hickory tree in the neighborhood of 
Centre Square (no doubt the famous hickory-tree wdiere the 
Indians held their council) and was rung there until the steeple 
was ready to receive it. This is no doubt the same bell men- 
tioned in 1746. Tradition has also preserved the fact that on 
the emergency occasioned by a sudden incursion of hostile In- 
dians into " Hickorytown," as Lancaster was first called, a 
heroic woman rushed into the church and gave the alarm 
to the neighborhood by ringing the bell. This bell, burst in 
1774, on the occasion of a hasty ringing in very cold weather. 
In 1784 another bell burst; they were both sold afterwards 
at eleven pence per pound. While the sound of these bells 
has long since died, as have those who heard them, others 
have come to take their place — pleasing reminders of days 
gone by. 

Possibly the old hickory tree was more than a tradition, for 
here the Conestogas often met to deliberate or to barter away 
the furs of wild animals for which the surrounding country 
was noted. The present city is two miles square, and was 
named by John Wright, after that English county from which 
he emigrated in the year 17 14. 

Prompt as Lancaster has been since the year 1818, when 
it became a city, to part with many of its old-time customs, 
habits and traditions, some of its streets, we rejoice to say, still 
bear the old names — King, Queen, Duke, Orange, Prince — a 
legacy handed down from the provincial government of the 
mother country. We believe councils in years gone by did 
right in preserving these familiar titles. It is well to be able 
to point to these staunch and faithful reminders of the atmos- 
phere in which our town was born. For in these names, so 



6 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

familiar in their homes across the sea, the men of that early 
day sought to enshrine their loyalty and devotion to the mother 
country. 

We may dwell upon this circumstance for a moment, in order 
to get a true perspective of the long line of historic events 
which occurred in the years before the city ever showed signs 
of becoming a " Greater Lancaster." To fully appreciate the 
manifold blessings on every hand so generously displayed ; to 
anticipate what the future may have in store, and to more fully 
realize the innumerable blessings of the past, now so little 
appreciated, requires an acquaintance with the times and the 
deeds of those who have passed away in the fullness of their 
years, and left on " the sands of time " a heritage for their de- 
scendants which should ever be held in grateful remembrance. 

It is somewhat difificult to determine how or when educa- 
tion in Lancaster had its beginning. That it was contempor- 
aneous with the founding of the earliest church schools, his- 
tory makes perfectly clear. To attempt to trace these in 
chronological order, however, so as to do entire justice to 
each in turn, has caused more than one local historian to 
dififer with those who had gone before. 

It is a well recognized fact that, from the time of the first 
settlement made on the banks of the Conestoga by the Eng- 
lish and Quakers as far back as the year 1729, when the city 
of Lancaster was not yet a borough, the terms religion and 
education were synonymous. If the former was the main 
pillar upon which the Spiritual w'as to rest, the latter was 
just as indispensable to the worship of Almighty God ; for, to 
fully comprehend the Scriptures required at least a knowledge 
of the elements of an education. As time ran on, with the 
incoming of the sturdy Germans, each congregation was re- 
garded as a sort of " spiritual municipal corporation " having 
a three-fold purpose — first, the erection of places of worship ; 
second, to supply these with those who should minister to their 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 7 

wants in holy things ; and third, to secure the services of a 
competent schoohnaster to instruct their children in the ele- 
ments of a good German or English education. 

So deeply grounded was this In'oad principle of Christian 
culture, that we may well wonder how a system of free schools 
eliminating all religious instruction was ever to gain a foot- 
hold among these all-powerful sects. For their inherent faith 
rested upon the hroad proposition that all instruction of a 
secular nature was Init secondary to that higher and holier 
purpose for the preservation of which they had abandoned 
the Fatherland for the banks of the Conestoga, where thev 
might worship God and educate their children in accordance 
with the dictates of their own conscience. 

The force of the foregoing will appear all the more clear a? 
my story continues. Nor has this religious fervor eulirclv 
ceased to be a disturbing factor in educational development. 
Far from it. The battle was fought as strenuously during 
the first years of the common school system as it had been a 
hundred years before, and may be a century hence — unless, 
perchance, our lawmakers meanwhile stem the tide of our 
modern-day course of study, from which the Bible has been 
almost, if not entirely, eliminated. 

As has been said, there was from the time of the first settle- 
ment of this old town the nucleus of an English population in 
Lancaster. It was small in number at first, but all-powerful 
in scholastic training and religious conviction, elements that 
have ever dominated the social, political and intellectual life 
of this city from then to the present day. This, however, is 
in no way intended to convey the impression that the Luth- 
eran, the Moravian and German Reformed congregations, the 
oldest with the possible exception of the Friends, were any the 
less intelligent or aggressive. But they dififered from the 
English settlers in adhering more strictly to their own de- 
nominational schools and places of worship ; and they mani- 



8 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

fested little interest, at least for many years, in the political 
and secular affairs of the community. 

Another condition must be met and considered. It must not 
be inferred that Lancaster was or is an oasis in a desert, draw- 
ing its power and inspiration wholly from within itself. On 
the contrary, the county of which the city is but a part, may 
be considered the territory from which the city, like a river, 
has ever drawn a store of wealth, wisdom and intelligence. A 
more diversified nationality is scarcely to be found elsewhere 
in the Commonwealth. Here, not only may be found the 
Germans, the Moravians, the Scotch-Irish, the Huguenots, the 
Welsh, but the English and Quakers as well ; all embraced 
within an area of nine hundred and seventy-three miles. 
What other county in the state can point to such a multiplicity 
of races, whose opinions when crystallized into one harmonious 
whole is all-powerful in state and nation ? It may be taken for 
granted as my story continues, that what has enured to the city 
from an educational standpoint, has had its counterpart in 
the schools of the county. r)Oth have kept pace, one with 
the other, in the sphere of religious and educational develop- 
ment 

But to get back to the thread of my story : It has always 
been the custom among the Germans to plant churches and 
schools together. The Lutherans had their first church as 
early as 1733 ; the Reformed congregation, in 1736. The 
history of the German schools, is, therefore, bound up in the 
history of the early churches of Lancaster. Although church 
records of the early times are meagre, and have little to say 
concerning schools, there is no doubt that both the Lutheran 
and Reformed churches, from 1734 on, maintained schools in 
their respective congregations. Far be it from the writer to 
impugn the motives of the loyal and patriotic citizens, differing 
widely in nationality, tradition and creed from the English. 
They stood united for two great needs of the Province — edu- 
cation and religion. 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 9 

As early as the year 1754, the Calvinist and Lutheran min- 
isters and fourteen of the leading citizens of Lancaster 
petitioned for a teacher capable of instructing not only in 
English and German, but also in Latin and Greek. To render 
possible the employment of so scholarly a man as teacher, the 
following voluntarily pledged the amount set opposite to their 
names : 

Edward Shippen, 2 scholars, tliough lie has none to send £6.0.0 

Simon Kuhn, 2 scholars 6.0.0 

George Gibson, 2 scholars 6.0.0 

Michael Utt, i scholar 30.0 

Emanuel Carpenter, t scholar 300 

George Ross, i scholar 3-0.o 

George Craig and James Wright, i scholar 3.0.0 

Michael Gross, i scholar 3-0.o 

Jacob Good, i scholar 30.0 

William Sloon, i scholar i.i.o • 

Jacob Eicholtz, i scholar, 30.0 

John Jacob Loeser, no scholar i-i-O 

Bernard Hubley, i scholar 300 

Jacob Huber 30.0 

Sebastian Graff 3-0.0 

George Graff 30.0 

With a pledged subscription of fifty-four pounds, the school 
opened July ist. 1755, with Rev. Mr. Samuel Magaw as 
schoolmaster. This school was of more than local significance 
— its purpose being to spread the cause of education among 
the poor German population of the colony. The Catholic 
church during those early times may have been an exception ; 
for close investigation has failed to locate schools in connec- 
tion with its religious work. The Moravian congregation was 
organized by Bishop Spangenburg in 1745. and in 1746 a 
church and school house were erected at the corner of Orange 
and Market streets, where the old building is yet standing. 

It is not the purpose of this work to treat of the churches 
independent of their schools ; nor indeed, have we the space 
to devote to all of the many schools that sprang into exist- 
2 



10 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

ence within the Hmits of Lancaster during the last century of 
its history. The data given above are founded partly on 
tradition, partly on known fact, having been published from 
time to time in other historical works. 

Probably the first authentic reference to a purely non-sec- 
tarian school in Lancaster is made to one established here in 
1748. This school was soon crowded with English, Irish and 
German pupils, under the charge of the well known Jacob 
Loeser. In 1761, the children are mentioned as taking part 
in the laying of the cornerstone of the new building, but 
whether school house or church does not appear. In 1762, the 
building had ninety scholars and was crowded to its utmost 
capacity. The report, made that year to the Synod in session 
in Philadelphia, says : " During the summer the German 
school is attended by about fifty or sixty children, and dur- 
ing the winter by from eighty to ninety. The schoolmaster is 
an able and gifted man, who would well be able to render 
more service. It is, however, to be regretted that on account 
of the want of room and better regulations it cannot be ren- 
dered more efficient." This school was larger and of more 
importance than the average school of that early day ; and was 
a credit to the denomination which established and controlled it. 

Jacob Loeser was a busy man and not overpaid. Indeed, 
few teachers ever are, in any age, among any people. In addi- 
tion to teaching the school in 1781, " he played the organ, led 
the singing during regular church services, opened and closed 
the church, and had charge of the graveyard. For all of this 
he received " a free dwelling in part of the school house, had 
free use of part of the school lot, ten cords of wood, half 
being hickory, and the sum of ten pounds a year." 

The parochial and private schools served a very important 
purpose in those early days. So rapidly had they multiplied 
within the limits of our old inland town, and with so much 
success were they conducted, that, from 1745 to 1780, they 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 11 

were almost the only schools of note within the borough. 
During the latter year, however, a movement was inaugurated, 
the far-reaching consequences of which could not be foreseen 
by the wisest of its promoters. At this time, 1780, Jasper 
Yeates, Esq., Casper Shaffner, Esq., Col. George Ross, Charles 
Holl and others, finding that the existing parochial schools 
were inadequate to the growing wants of the people and in- 
capable of teaching the higher branches, engaged the ser- 
vices of a schoolmaster of known ability to conduct a select 
academv. This academy continued in use for several years as 
the high school of the town, until, because of internal difficulty 
it was finally discontinued. Unsatisfactory as it had proved 
to be, it suggested the idea of establishing another, on a surer 
basis, under the control of trustees. By act of incorporation 
it eventually became known as Franklin College, taking its 
name from Benjamin Franklin, who contributed to its en- 
dowment, and was present at the laying of the corner-stone of 
its first building in 1787. 

In 1836, the Reformed Church established Marshall College 
at Mercersburg, Franklin county, naming it after Chief Justice 
Marshall. These two most worthy institutions, although for a 
time distant from each other, were consolidated in Lancaster 
under a new charter in 1852, and a year later, in 1853, became 
known as Franklin and Marshall College, whose Golden 
Jubilee was so appropriately celebrated during Commencement 
Week of 1903. 

The writer, unfortunately, can make no claim to having 
attended Franklin Academy or Franklin and Marshall Col- 
lege either during these early times or in after years. Not- 
withstanding, memory often carries him back to the old 
" Academy " building on Lime near the corner of Orange. 
For to and from it as a lad, he carried many a little souvenir, 
whose contents were only known to the young professor and 
that young miss who never failed to secure both ends of the 



12 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

improvised envelope. But what cared the young messenger- 
boy of those days for what these loving mementoes contained, 
so long as an old-fashioned silver coin was hidden away deep 
down in his trousers' pocket? Time, however, has wrought 
many changes since the young men of Franklin College — for 
it was a college now — pressed their way to and from this old 
Lime street building with their store of Latin and Greek. 
A very few no doubt remain, but the great majority have 
passed to that bourne from which none return. 

This old academy, and the later Franklin and Marshall 
College, may be mentioned with a few others of less note as 
the forerunners of the common school system, which was the 
harbinger of a brighter future for the good people of Lan- 
caster. It may be accepted then, as another historical fact, 
that, with the incoming of Franklin Academy, came also the 
era of a higher order of intellectual development. Meanwhile, 
schools independent of church control, gathering round them 
years of experience, soon crystallized the various conflicting 
opinions of the past into one harmonious wdiole. 

For a decade preceding, and for nearly a score of years 
following the year 1818, when Lancaster took her place among 
her sister cities of the commonwealth, private and select 
schools, each with a special mission to perform, began to open 
up in all parts of this then intellectual center. It was during 
this year, that the writer's father, then a lad of ten, came with 
his kin to the old town which had now assumed the dignity of 
a city of considerable importance. Here he resided for a period 
of eighty-one years, until the time of his death in 1899. And 
a good old town it was, indeed, for any growing lad to live in, 
watching its development from a population of but a few thou- 
sand to the census mark of forty thousand. 

As to the curriculum of those days, one school in particular 
advertised the following branches of school work, namely, 
" needle-work, tambore work in shading in gold and silver ; 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 13 

also filigree-work ; open work, plain sewing and sample work, 
with painting and drawing " — all appealing to the esthetic 
tastes and cultnrc of the times. This training was not with- 
out results. For the author in search after likenesses of those 
school directors most active in years gone b}', has discovered 
more than one artist to whom Lancaster can point with pride. 
Even now, on the walls of many of our residences may be 
found these charming mementoes, the work of Eicholtz and 
others, wdio, in their own handicraft had few superiors. 

Another of the leading schools of that day about which we 
have trustworthy information, was established by John Gib- 
bons, whose name first appeared in the newspapers at the be- 
ginning of the year 1804. He says he " arrived from Car- 
lisle, and proposes to open an academy in a few days for young 
ladies ; that he could be conversed with at Slaymaker's near 
the Court House." At a later date he advertised that his 
school would be opened at the stone house at the corner of 
East King and Church streets. A card in the Lancaster 
Journal of August 10, 1804, reads as follows: "The liberal 
subscriptions of the ladies and gentlemen of Lancaster bor- 
ough, for the laudable purpose of repairing the stone house, 
so as to render it a comfortable place for the accommodation 
of the several schools now taught in it, has induced the com- 
mittee to engage workmen, who have already commenced the 
work of repair and improvement. Should the citizens to 
whom the subscription has not been handed be disposed to 
afford like generous support, the whole of the lower story 
will be completely finished, the lot fenced, and other necessary 
buildings erected before the cold season commences." Now 
this " stone house "' was nothing more than a ramshackle Iniild- 
ing, as many of our older citizens may recall. And as there 
is no record of this venture, nor any mention of future gratui- 
tous subscriptions handed in, we may surmise that John Gib- 
bons had a hard road to travel, and that his school had a 
short existence. 



14 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

In 1805, a number of new teachers appear on the scene. 
One of the first to announce himself was Alathias Stevenson, 
who advertised that he would open a school " at the house of 
Archibald M'Clenigan." William Armstrong' also opened a 
school, assisted by his wife, who gave instruction in all kinds 
of sewing — save that on the sewing machine. Again, John 
Husband, clerk of the English Court, taught at his house on 
Prince street. The " Young Ladies' Academy " was at this 
time in charge of the Rev. Mr. Latta. The academy which 
James Rose had opened in 1802 was now in charge of 
Thomas Poole, late from the French academy of Baltimore. 
In the fall of 1806, Mr. Cezeron, who had taught dancing for 
some time in the borough, advertised that he would open a 
French school at his home on South Queen street. It may be 
taken for granted, then, that the teaching of dancing and 
French were not considered incompatible. In 1808, J. Turbill 
opened a morning school for young ladies ; Robert Scott, a 
day school for boys ; John Hamilton, a night school on West 
King- street; Mrs. Ash, a childrens' school on South Queen 
street, nearly opposite the Friends' meeting house ; and Paul 
Boggs, from Ireland, " who came highly recommended," suc- 
ceeded to Mr. Stevenson's school, teaching Latin and Greek. 
In February, 1810, Samuel Bacon opened at Judge Yeates' 
house what he was pleased to term " The Lancaster Tyrocin- 
ium," a school in which he taught " everything from the A 
B C's to the dead languages." This school with its high- 
sounding title, is the only one which definitely advertised in- 
struction in the elementary branches. The term " tyrocinium," 
as applied to the school of " ye olden time," seems to have 
fallen into " innocuous desuetude " among the teachers of our 
day. 

In 181 7, Terrence M'Gingan opened a classical school in 
Franklin College. In the year following, a French and Eng- 
lish school was opened by Mr. and Mrs. Quinan, the latter 




DR. JOHN L. ATLEE. 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 15 

" educated from infancy in Paris." Two additional schools 
were opened in the year 1818: the first a French and English 
school ; the latter upon the Lancasterian ])lan, soon to engross 
the reader's attention. The teacher advertised that " children 
learning the rudiments will be taught upon this plan at three 
dollars and a half per quarter, if desired l)y their parents ; but 
no attempt will be made to teach those who are advanced by 
that system ; he " having made a sufficient number of experi- 
ments in the course of two years' teaching upon that plan, 
to satisfy himself that it cannot be extended with advantage 
to any but those learning the rudiments." In 1819, John 
Webb and Augustus M. Hay opened schools, and James Cox 
followed in 1820. Sarah H. Armstrong joined the ranks in 
1 82 1, to be followed in the same year by Ashbel Steel. 

It would seem from the multiplicity of schools springing up 
in all parts of the old shire town that a new era had dawned 
upon the good people of Lancaster. These, with a large num- 
ber of others, were yet to con.e into existence before the birth 
of the common school system, and are hert in referred to not so 
much for any special interest they may awaken, as to show 
the educational status of Lancaster at that time. It will be 
noticed, however, that there was little of the present friendly 
intercourse between these professional workers. There was 
no feeling of " each for all and all for each." It would seem 
that each school was in its verv nature a ]M-ivatc affair, and 
self-preservation was the first thing to be considered. It is 
only natural to presume that they dift'ered little from the 
private and parochial schools of the present dav with each one 
striving to maiiUain its own position. 

In this connection, the large number of private schools of 
that period is suggestive of two additional reflections that 
must not be overlooked. In the first place, sufficient evidence 
has been adduced to show that Lancaster was a highlv culti- 
vated literary center for many years prior to the adoption 



16 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

of the free school system. Indeed, there seems to have been 
no lack of opportunity for the education of the classes, if not 
the masses ; so that the generally prevailing idea that there was 
little culture among the people of Lancaster, is evidently a 
mistaken one. In the second place, however, the reader should 
bear in mind that, in spite of the number and variety of schools 
hitherto mentioned, there was not one free to the average boy 
or girl whose parents could not afford to pay for their educa- 
tion. They were all intended especially for the well-to-do, 
who could easily afford the expense of providing their children 
with the best educational training. 

The foregoing remarks, however, are in no way intended to 
reflect unfavorably upon the private and church schools, either 
those of a century ago or those of today : valuable as they 
were in the past, equally so are they at present. All institu- 
tions of learning which have a tendency to diffuse information, 
even though confined to the favored few, are useful, and 
worthy of our warmest regard. And yet, as the years roll 
on, it is only to be hoped that it cannot be said that the private 
schools have flourished because the common schools have failed 
to measure up to that high standard of excellence demanded 
by the community. That system, indeed, whose benevolent 
arms embrace the best interests of all, rich and poor alike, 
certainly should deserve the highest encomiums and the 
deepest esteem which a grateful people can bestow. Let this 
thought then, not be casually thrust aside as of little con- 
sequence ; for it is one worthy of the utmost importance to 
both director and teacher : that the public schools should never 
be compelled to meet the charge that they are not in all re- 
spects the equal, as least, of those established through private 
enterprise. 

That the author who has undertaken this task voluntarily 
is duly qualified, is not assumed. But if his limited knowledge 
and experience on this deeply interesting subject of cduca- 




DR. SAMUEL HUMES. 



EARLY CHURCH AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 17 

tion can throw any additional light on what has engrossed 
the attention of other writers, his object will be accomplished. 

The purpose of the author, it may here be said, shall not be 
that of a mere compiler of historical events, subordinating' his 
own individuality to what he may gather from the record 
l)ooks of the Lancaster School Board covering' a ])eriod of 
more than half a century. It is to be hoped that, as my story 
continues, the reader will enter intelligently into the author's 
feeling, for to pronounce judgment too readily upon the 
seemingly unimportant, would be to overlook the true intent 
and purpose of the work as a whole. 

It will be furthermore observed, before we have journeyed 
very far together, that the common school system is not to 
prove a panacea for all the ills common to the human family, 
although certain of its advocates were led so to regard it at 
the time of its adoption. As one of the early promoters ex- 
pressed it, " Establish the system on a sure and permanent 
foundation, and within half a century there will be no use 
for prisons and courts of justice." Little could this champion 
of equal educational facilities foresee that selfishness, pride, 
vanity, anger, resentment, cruelty and conceit, each with its 
attendant minor evils so firmly intervoven in our nature, were 
to be proportionately as great today as they were when our 
forefathers established the system within the boundaries of 
the Commonwealth. 

That our local educational ship of state, starting out under 
such trying and adverse conditions, had the confidence of the 
men who stood by its helm, who can doubt? Wise as they 
were in their generation, they little dreamed that there may 
be ardor without knowledge, action without deliberation ; and 
that even zeal after perfection may transcend the bounds of 
experience and prudence. 

It will be observed in due time, that the system had hardlv 
more than started on its onward career, when one enthusiast 
3 



18 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

proposed to abandon the older mode, to make way for the new, 
to knock down the landmarks of time and wisdom, and form 
them on an entirely new basis ; another advanced the con- 
clusion that high schools are unnecessary, even dangerous, be- 
cause in them an aristocratic spirit is cherished ; a third held 
that the Latin and Greek languages are useless, and that the 
modern tongue ought to take their place ; a fourth believed 
that every study should be of the utilitarian character, and 
that no kind of an education is useful, except the specific kind 
that teaches a boy to accumulate dollars and cents. Finally, 
as years ran on, there entered the Lancaster school board, 
men who could see but one half of the operation of the human 
mind, ready to force upon the schools new educational schemes 
simplv because they happened to fall in with their precon- 
ceived hopes and wishes. To what extent these various con- 
flicting opinions have been eliminated, may be gathered from 
the proceedings of the Board in due course of time. 

Whatever the judgment of the reader may be at my con- 
clusion of its history, the fact remains that nearly one thou- 
sand workmen, teachers and directors, have been engaged 
during these many years in adding the mass of their best 
thinking to the first frail outlines of our common school sys- 
tem. It may be asked, " What have the people received as 
the result of all this efifort and money expended on its uplift- 
ing?" We know that the answer will be, "Well done, good 
and faithful servants." 




CHRISTOPHER HAGER. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 

Governor AJiftlin Recommends General Education, 1790 — First Move 
Toward Free Schools, 1802 — Odium of Attendance on State Schools — 
Joseph Lancaster and his Methods — John Beck's Visit to Baltimore, 
in 1820 — •" Lancaster County Teachers' Lyceum " — Opening of Lancaster 
Public School — Dissatisfaction with Monitorial System — Commenda- 
tion of Grand Jury Appointed to Investigate the Lancasterian System. 

Reference having been made to the private and select 
schools of Lancaster that existed before the era of free schools, 
we are now to enter step by step into the causes which made 
the common schools a possibility. The condition of educa- 
tion in the borough of Lancaster about the year 1800 had its 
counterpart in other sections of the state, where the line of 
demarcation between the learned and the illiterate was even 
more pronounced. In the rural districts, especially, a wider 
difference prevailed than in the towns ; perhaps for the reason 
that in the cultivation of the soil, the all-important requisites 
were a strong arm and a willingness to pursue the labors of 
the farm. There were, of course, even among the tillers of 
the soil, men who regarded education as highly essential, but 
they were largely in the minority. 

In the first message of Governor Mifflin to the Legislature, 
as early as 1790, we find this thoughtful suggestion: "To 
multiply, regulate and strengthen the cause of education is, 
indeed, the duty, and must be the delight of every wise and 
virtuous government ; for the experience of America has 
evinced that knowledge, while it makes us sensible of our 
rights as men, enforces our obligations as members of society." 
Two years later, he urged the establishment of public schools 
by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, giving in his message 

19 



20 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

his views as to how, in liis jiid.q'mcnt, this most desirable pur- 
pose might be reached. 

But in 1802 we find the first move in the direction of a law 
for the education of the poor gratis. Two }'cars later, another 
act was passed as a substitute ; and in the year 1809, the 
following appears on the statute books of the state : " It shall 
be the duty of the Commissioners of the several counties 
within this Commonwealth, at the time of issuing precepts to 
assessors, annually to direct and require the assessors of each 
and every township, ward and district, to receive from the 
parents the names of all children between the ages of five and 
twelve years who reside therein, and whose parents are un- 
able to pay for their schooling ; and the Commissioners when 
they hold appeals, shall hear all persons who apply for ad- 
mission or alterations of names in said list, and make all such 
alterations as to them shall appear just, reasonable and agree- 
able to the true intent and meaning of this act ; that the 
assessors shall send a list of the names of the children to 
the teachers within his township, ward or district, whose duty 
it shall be to teach all such children as may come to their 
schools, in the same manner as other children are taught ; and 
each teacher shall keep a day-book, in which he shall enter 
the number of days each child entitled to the provisions of 
this act shall be taught ; and he shall enter in said book the 
amount of all stationery furnished for the use of such child, 
from which book he shall make out his account against the 
county, on oath or affirmation, agreeably to the usual rates of 
charging for tuition in said school, subject to the examina- 
tion and revision of the trustees of said school, where there 
are any ; but where there are no trustees, to three reputable 
subscribers to the school, which account, after being so ex- 
amined or revised, he shall present to the County Commis- 
sioners, who, if they approve thereof, shall draw their order 
on the county treasurer for the amount, which he is herebv 



THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 21 

authorized and directed to pay out of any moneys in the 
treasury." 

This act, as will be observed, while in no way affecting the 
status of the denominational and select schools, was to be 
short-lived; for it compelled parents to make public records 
of their poverty — to pauperize themselves, so to speak, by 
sending their children to school with this invidious mark upon 
them. Another disagreeable feature of the law was, that 
it required teachers to make oath or affidavit of all such chil- 
dren too poor to pay for their own schooling, whereupon the 
County Commissioners were required to compensate the 
schoolmaster in charge. Under this pauper act, so much 
odium Avas attached to those who attended the schools, that 
many people preferred to keep their children at home in 
ignorance rather than suffer the humiliation to which they 
were subjected by those whose parents could afford the ex- 
pense of educating them privately. Comparing the conditions 
as we find them today with those which prevailed when the 
" pauper act " first went into effect, discriminating as it ap- 
peared to, in favor of the poor, may it not be accepted as the 
initial step among the masses fcr a broader and more com- 
prehensive system in wdiich all classes, rich and poor alike, 
should enter school upon terms of perfect equality? In so 
far at least, as the opportunity of securing an education at 
the public expense, is concerned? 

Too much importance cannot be attached to this feeling of 
" class distinction," which prevailed to some extent down to 
the very beginning of the free school system. The private 
schools during the early forties were still all-powerful, and 
those attending them only too frequently looked with disdain 
ujjon those com])elled, through necessity in many instances, to 
attend the " state schools." This is no imaginary picture, but 
one verified by the experience and observation of the boys 
and girls who actually attended the public schools of that 
early period. 



22 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

In referring once more to the act of 1809, it may be said 
that not one of the Governors of the state, (hn-ing the time it 
remained in force, fek convinced that it was a fulfinment of 
the constitutional provision respecting education. While the 
act was general and applicable to all the districts of the state, 
there is no evidence that it ever went into effect in the bor- 
ough of Lancaster. In 1812, a supplement was passed, modi- 
fying the act of 1809 so far as it applied to the city and county 
of Philadelphia. This amendment was the forerunner of the 
act of 1818, which constituted Philadelphia the " First School 
District " of Pennsylvania, and provided for the education of 
the children of the city and county on the Lancasterian ])lan, 
at the public expense. In many respects it was but a slight 
improvement over the previous enactment which it sought to 
supersede. Yet it was a step in advance. Under its pro- 
visions, the " Lancasterian " system went into effect in Lan- 
caster in 1822, and which only four years before had assumed 
the proud distinction of a municipality, where the just and 
the unjust dwelt together in perfect harmony (with the ad- 
vantage generally in favor of the latter). 

As the " Lancasterian " system is to form the basis upon 
which my story is largely to rest, and in order that the name 
" Lancasterian " may in no way be associated with that of 
our own city or county, it may be said that it derived its 
name from one Joseph Lancaster, born in London in 1778. 
At the age of twenty, Joseph, who was a member of the 
Society of Friends, opened a school for poor children in a 
room in his father's house ; but this becoming too small, a 
more suitable building was erected afterwards, in which, under 
his management, as many as a thousand children were at 
times in attendance. As most of these were too poor to pay 
for their schooling and Mr. Lancaster himself was unable to 
employ assistants, he devised the plan of appointing some of 
his pupils " monitors " to instruct others. Thus it has been 




JOHN BAER. 



THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 23 

said that tliis humble school tans^ht itself under the general 
supervision of a single master. This method might be likened 
unto the blind leading the blind ; but it had the advantage of 
reaching a large number of children. Behind it there was 
after all a certain force that carried conviction to thousands 
who stood ready to proclaim its author one of the greatest 
benefactors of his day and generation. Through his quick re- 
sults and showy methods, ]\Ir. Lancaster's success soon reached 
the ears of George III. This brought about an interview with 
the king and a liberal royal subscription to aid the benevolent 
work, which made his monitorial system known throughout the 
whole knigdom. 

It is well for us to observe the important fact — that at this 
time ignorance prevailed to an alarming extent among the 
people of England, Scotland and Ireland. The educator, then, 
who could teach the alphabet, if nothing more, to hundreds 
even more easily than a single child had been previously taught 
under the " single pupil plan," deserved to be held in high 
esteem. For his system, however, still greater advantages 
were claimed — that of educating the masses in all the branches 
of- the school curriculum. Indeed, in its revolutionizing effect, 
his invention may be likened unto that of the cotton gin : the 
one, however was dealing with the human intellect, the other 
with a common product of the earth. 

Joseph Lancaster soon left his school, to lecture on education 
throughout England, Scotland and Ireland, forming " Lancas- 
terian Societies," model schools and normal colleges. In 1820 
he visited the L^nited States, receiving the endorsement of lead- 
ing educators in all the cities he visited. This may seem all 
the more remarkable in view of what is to follow, and proves 
conclusively that the most learned may be carried away on 
the popular w'ave of educational excitement. It was so in the 
olden times ; it is so today. Let a measure once receive the 
endorsement of public opinion, whether right or wrong in prin- 



24 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

ciple, it will, at least for a time, maintain supremacy against 
the assaults of its most determined enemies. 

It was on the return of one of the members of the " Free 
School Society," from London where he had gone to observe 
the working's of this wonderful school, that the patriotic and 
progressive De Witt Clinton, at the opening of a " Free 
School " in New York, gave expression to the following : " I 
confess that I recognize in Lancaster a benefactor of the human 
race. I consider his system as creating a new era in educa- 
tion — a blessing sent down from heaven to redeem the poor 
and distressed of this world from the power and domain of 
ignorance." In his message as Governor in 1818, his words 
are equally emphatic : " Having participated," he says, " in 
the first establishment of the Lancasterian system in this 
country ; having carefully watched its progress and witnessed 
its benefits, I can confidently recommend it as an invaluable 
improvement, which, by its wonderful combination of economy 
in expense, and rapidity of instruction, has created a new era 
in education. The system operates with the same efficiency 
in education as labor-saving machinery does in the useful arts." 

Singular, indeed, must have been the views held by this 
champion of the Lancasterian system, to lead him to imagine 
that the human intellect, though capable of being moulded into 
almost any shape, could become permanently adjusted to a sys- 
tem of teaching whose only recommendation was its ability to 
combine economy of expense with rapidity of instruction. 

However, as this peculiar system was destined to play such 
an important part in the history of the schools of our com- 
munity after the year 1822, an opinion of Joseph Lancaster and 
his methods, by the late John l)eck, the well-known school- 
master of Lititz, may be not without interest to those, who, 
in years gone by, recognized his sterling worth as an educator. 
In his letter to his pupils at the end of fifty years' service as 
teacher, he had this to say of the inventor and exponent of 



THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 25 

the " monitorial " system, that for a period of fifteen years 
thereafter was in operation in the Prince and Chestnut street 
building", then called the " I^ancasterian school." 

" After I had been a teacher a short time," he states, " I fre- 
quently felt a desire to have some communication with other 
teachers, in order to glean some experience from them ; but in 
this I was doomed to disappointment, for it actually appeared 
in those days as if each teacher viewed the other with a jealous 
eye, and as though no sociability could exist among them. I 
made frequent attempts to visit educational institutions, but 
always found myself an unwelcome visitor. Conventions and 
institutes had not been inaugurated as in the present era of 
sociability and free interchange. Let me give you an instance ; 
in the year 1820. the celebrated teacher, Joseph Lancaster came 
to this country from England, in order to introduce his 
methods, whereby he professed to instruct seven hundred chil- 
dren in a body in all the various branches to perfection. My 
desire to see him and his school was great. Accordingly I un- 
dertook a journey to Baltimore, where he was teaching at the 
time, to pay him a visit. I arrived there in the evening and 
could scarcely wait until morning, so great was my anxiety to 
see him and his school in operation. Hastening to the school 
as early as I thought proper, I encountered him at the door ; I 
grasped his hand most cordially, and introduced myself as a 
teacher, stating to him the object of my errand. His reply 
was, ' I am very sorry for thee ; I am not in the habit of ad- 
mitting teachers into my school.' Whereupon I endeavored 
to reason with him, telling him that I had heard and read 
much aljout him, had traveled a hundred miles to see him and 
his school, and that possibly he might make an exception in 
my case. Yet all to no purpose, for reiterating once more, ' I 
am sorry for thee,' he turned his back on me, and left the 
room." 

What greater disappointment could have befallen any man, 



26 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

than that the enthusiastic John Beck was compelled to meet, 
after staging the entire distance from Lititz to the city of 
Baltimore ! But let us follow him as he throws the search- 
light over those early days of nearly a century ago. " In 
1836," he continues his reminiscences, " a happier period com- 
menced to dawn, for it was then that sociability among the 
teachers may be said to have taken the place of prejudice and 
l)igotry, at least in Lancaster county. It was then that Joseph 
Holbrook called a convention of teachers and friends of educa- 
tion to meet on the i8th of August, at Westchester. I was the 
only one present from Lancaster county, and was chosen 
president thereof. It continued in session three days, and was 
truly a happy meeting, wherein nothing but kindness and good 
feeling prevailed. We separated, each pledging himself to 
establish teachers' associations in our own districts, with the 
purpose of developing greater fraternity. Lancaster County 
was my field of operations. On my return I w'as fortunate 
enough to enlist a Mr. Flood, then a teacher in Lancaster, in 
the cause ; and we called a meeting in the papers without our 
signatures, inviting all teachers and friends of education to 
meet in the city of Lancaster on a certain day. The attend- 
ance was not large, but all who appeared were of the right 
mind, and when I laid the subject before them, unanimously 
approved of it and a society was formed, called the " Lan- 
caster County Teachers' Lyceum," which thereafter met 
monthly, and from time to time increased in number. In order 
to extend its usefulness still further, and to enlist parents more 
seriously in the cause of education, I made it my duty to visit 
certain parts of the county and often addressed large audi- 
ences on the subject, both in English and German ; and some- 
times also delivered lectures on some interesting scientific sub- 
ject. I also made it my duty, as often as I could spare time, 
to visit the schools around Lititz, with a view of imparting my 
experience to the younger teachers. This work I continued 
until the Normal School at Millersville was established." 



THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 27 

What a splendid tribute to the cause of education is this 
rendered by the venerable John Beck, the grandfather of the 
accomplished ex-assistant District Attorney of the United 
States. It throws a flood of light upon the conditions which 
shall be described more fully in the following pages. 

To describe the Lancasterian Act more fully, it may be said 
that it provided for the education of the poor children at the 
]>ul)lic expense within the city of Lancaster and incorporated 
boroughs of the county only, which were to constitute " the 
Second School District," a previous enactment of the Legis- 
lature, having constituted Philadelphia the b^irst District. The 
local act further provided that " the Court of Common Pleas 
of Lancaster county, at the regular term in April, and in the 
April term in each succeeding year, shall appoint twelve citi- 
zens residing within the city of Lancaster, which shall Ix' called 
the First Section of the Second School District." 

Lender the broad and liberal provisions of what was then 
known as the Lancasterian system, the directors were to have 
power " to erect school houses, appoint teachers, provide books 
for indigent children, and all other things necessary for main- 
taining and supporting the schools." It was further provided 
that they might " admit into the school all orphan children and 
children of indigent parents, to be supported at the public ex- 
pense as they think proper ; also to admit children whose par- 
ents or guardians are in circumstances to i)ay for their tuition 
cither in whole or in part; and the directors shall be at libertv 
to charge in each individual case any sum which might be 
agreed upon between the parties." It was further specified 
that the directors " were to draw from the county treasury the 
money necessary in erecting, establishing, and maintaining the 
schools within the first section of the second school district." 

The Court of Common Pleas, in pursuance of this act, ap- 
pointed as directors for Lancaster city. Christian Endress, 
AVilliam Augustus Muhlenberg. William Ashmeade, John 
4 



28 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Risdel, Adam Reigart, Casper Shaffner, Jr., Philip Benedict, 
George Musser, John Reynolds, Edward Coleman, George B. 
Porter, and Frederick Augustus Muhlenburg. 

On May 25, 1822, the directors advertised for " a lot of 
ground in the central part of the city, and conveniently adapted 
for the erection of a large and commodious building not less 
than thirty-two feet in front by seventy feet in depth, and 
which shall be so calculated as to admit light on both sides and 
in the front and rear without any possibility of obstruction by 
the erection of other contiguous buildings." 

On June 22, the directors advertised, " that having agreed 
upon a plan for the proposed building, they would receive pro- 
posals from builders " ; and on November 14, that they " would 
proceed to the election of teachers for the male and female de- 
partments." 

On January 21, 1823, the directors made their first report to 
the Court, in which they stated that " they had purchased a lot 
from William Kirkpatrick for $1,000; that proposals were re- 
ceived and a contract entered into for the erection of a build- 
ing with Alexander Miller of this city, who has undertaken to 
complete the same for the sum of four thousand five hundred 
dollars." The teachers had by this time been engaged, and on 
April 22, 1823, Christian Endress, president of the board, gave 
notice that " the public school of Lancaster would be formally 
opened on the following day at two o'clock with an appropriate 
address to the public, who are invited to attend." It is to be 
regretted that no account of this address has been preserved. 

There appeared, however, in the Lancaster IiifcIIii::;cnccr the 
following notice to the public : 

" The directors of the ist section of the 2nd school district 
of the state hereby give notice, that the duties of the Lan- 
casterian school under their direction, will begin in the new 
school l)uil(linG,- at the corner of Prince and Chestnut streets. 



THE LANCASTRRIAN SYSTEM. 29 

on Tuesday the 24 day of April next. The Directors expect 
to receive scholars, not only from the indij^ent, but from all 
who wish to obtain for their children, a good, plain, English 
education, at a very moderate expense. To such the terms 
will be accommodating ; and the system of instruction to be 
pursued, it is confidently believed, will give entire satisfaction. 
" Parents and Guardians desirous of having children ad- 
mitted into the school must make application on Tuesda\' the 
2^1 th inst. between 3 and 5 o'clock P. M., bringing their children 
with them." " By order of the Coard. 

WiLLiAJNi Augustus MuiiLENnEuo." 

In the second report submitted to the people through the 
Court on March 2, 1824, it was plainly to be seen that the 
school had not received that hearty support its promoters had 
anticipated. Aside from the deep prejudice the pauper feature 
had entailed, the purchase of a lot and the erection of a build- 
ing out of the funds of the County Treasury, was not looked 
upon by the taxpayers of the rural districts with favor. They 
were little disposed to bear the burden of being taxed for the 
education of the people of the city of Lancaster, compelled as 
they were to rely wholly upon themselves for the support of 
such schools as they might see fit to establish. ]\Iany of these 
schools, at that early day and down until a recent period, as 
the writer well recalls, were of the crudest kind, and scarcely 
fitted for school purposes. 

Among other things contained in the above-named report, 
the following appears : " In consequence of a late memorial 
to the Legislature complaining that the members of the Ger- 
man Lutheran, and Reformed congregations are not ' benefited, 
with the rest of their fellow citizens, by the Lancasterian 
school,' the directors feel called upon to state that the majority 
of their scholars, since the commencement of the institution, 
has always been the children of German Lutheran and German 



30 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Reformed parents. At present the number of sueh is upward 
of one hundred and sixty. If any portion of the community 
has been benefited more than another by the operation of the 
pubhc school it is unquestionably the above-named congrega- 
tions." 

But in view of these numerous complaints and the dissatis- 
faction arising from the taxpayers of the county, a supple- 
ment to the act was passed March 24, 1824, " to provide more 
efifectually for the education of the poor gratis ; and for the 
laying the foundation of a general system of education through- 
out the Commonwealth." Section 8 of this act excepted the 
city and county of Philadelphia and the city of Lancaster from 
its provisions, wnth the proviso " that the directors of the first 
section of the Second District (Lancaster) were not to draw 
any orders upon the county for any sum or sums of money for 
the support of the public school established by the act of 1822 — 
but it shall be the duty of Select and Common Councils of the 
city to provide adequate funds for the support and main- 
tenance of said school, and the directors of the school for the 
time being shall have power to draw upon the city treasury, 
as they have now upon the county." 

Shortly after the passage of this supplement, the following 
appeared in the Lancaster Infcllii^citccr : 

" Notice is hereby given to all the teachers of all the schools 

within the city of Lancaster, to whose care any children may 

have been committed by the Commissioners of the county of 

Lancaster, that after the 17 day of March next the further 

education of all such children will not be paid for by the said 

County Commissioners. 

" Henry Carpenter, 

" Henry M. Reigart, 

"John Buchanan, 

" Coinniissioncrs of Lancaster County." 



THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 31 

As there is nothing to show that Councils ever appropriated 
a dollar for the support of the Lancasterian school, it is difficult 
to determine how it was supported for the many years follow- 
ing. The last-named report showed among other items of ex- 
pense, one quarter salary of $150, paid to Rev. Alexander 
Varian, and $75.00 to Miss Ann Jameson. To add to the 
troubles with which this body of good Samaritans had to con- 
tend, the school later suffered loss in the death of Miss 
Jameson, assistant in the female department, compelling the 
directors to depend wholly upon j\Iiss Augusta Musscr. 

In the course of time the Lancasterian system showed its 
inadequacy. During the trying years the system was in opera- 
tion, frequent attempts were made to secure its repeal. It 
must not therefore be assumed that, while the system had its 
enemies, it was without staunch supporters — men who, while 
recognizing its weaknesses, were not willing to cast it aside 
until something better was offered by the lawmakers. On one 
occasion John L. Atlee and John Reynolds were authorized 
by the directors to appear before a Legislative committee at 
Harrisburg to prevent its overthrow. As the opponents had 
nothing better to offer than the discarded pauper act of 1809, 
which had been tried elsewhere and found wanting, it is not 
surprising that every effort should be resorted to by its de- 
fenders, consistent with the dignity of their position, to prevent 
its repeal. For, as they no doubt reasoned, " It is nuich easier 
to pull down one system than to build up another." 

On the other hand, it was argued, " that those who could 
afford to pay for their children's schooling were in no way dis- 
posed to question the principle upon wdiich the Lancasterian 
system was based." But the poorer classes, for whose educa- 
tion the county was compelled to pay, did not at all times agree 
with Clinton in looking upon this system as a " blessing sent 
down from Heaven." 

On December 6, 1825, the Grand Jury after visiting this 



32 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

school, presented a report to the Court, in which they stated 
that " they had been somewhat disappointed in not finding it 
in that order they expected, and were of the opinion that much 
improvement might be made in conducting it." This naturally 
brought to its rescue the principal, Rev. Mr. Alexander Varian 
who, in a letter to the president of the Board of Directors, ex- 
pressed the opinion that " there never was a time since the 
establishment of the institution when he would have been more 
disposed than at present to invite a rigid and minute scrutiny 
of the svstem of instruction through all its branches." This 
led the directors to petition the court of which Hon. Walter 
I'^anklin was president, and Samuel Dale and John Lightner 
associate justices — " to appoint five, seven or nine intelligent 
and respectable men, not residents of the city of Lancaster, to 
examine the scholars and the improvement made by them since 
entering the school, and report thereon at the next session of 
your honorable court." 

In accordance with the memorial, the court appointed Rev. 
Joseph Barr, of Strasburg township ; Rev. William Bates, of 
Elizabethtown ; Rev. Francis A. Latta, of Drumore ; William 
Gibbon, of Leacock ; Gardner Furness, of Little Britain ; Wil- 
liam Heister, of New Holland; Colonel R. R. Heister, of Co- 
calico ; Jacob Rohrer, of Mt. Joy, and Jacob Clyde, of Columbia 
borough. While there seems to be no record of this com- 
mittee's finding, the grand jury reported very favorably on the 
condition of the school at a subsequent sitting. 

Eighty vears have rolled by since these nine distinguished 
citizens of the county entered upon the responsible task of a 
"rigid and minute scrutiny of this system of instruction through 
all its branches." Deep, indeed, must have been the feeling 
which moved the principal to ask for a committee of ex- 
aminers, not residents of the city of Lancaster. The only 
reasonable conclusion to be reached is, that this school had lost 
the confidence of the public of the city to a marked degree. 



THE LANCASTERIAN SYSTEM. 33 

Af;ain, it is difficult to understand by what standard of com- 
parison the rating of this school was determined, in view of the 
fact that possibly not one of these distinguished gentlemen 
had hitherto been in any way familiar with the Lancasterian 
system of instruction. However, the fact that they were men 
of standing and character in their respective localities, was no 
doubt all-sufficient to render their report highly satisfactory to 
court and jury. Imagine how a similar committee's appoint- 
ment to examine the schools of this city at the i)resent time, 
would be received by the members of the Lancaster School 
Board ! And yet, may not the day come sooner or later, when 
a Legislative committee shall be appointed to determine 
whither the system in all the cities of the commonwealth is 
drifting? The author, however, is in no way disposed to an- 
ticipate the future. For nearly seventy years the common 
school system of Pennsylvania has fulfilled in a marked degree 
the purpose for which it was ordained. Whether it shall con- 
tinue to meet the demands of public opinion, in the future as 
it has in the past, rests largely with the people themselves. 



CHAPTER III. 

LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 

William Augustus Muhlenberg, D.D., and Founding of the Lancas- 
terian System — Lafayette's Visit to the Lancasterian Building— Amos 
Slaymaker's Reminiscences of Same — Maxims of the Early Days. 

During the fifteen-year period, from 1823 to 1838, when the 
Lancasterian system was merged into that of the free school 
system, to which the reader's attention will soon be directed, 
many changes occurred in its board of directors. Few of 
those appointed by the court in 1822 remained to participate in 
the great educational revolution of 1838. Three things need 
to be mentioned, however, in connection with the Lancasterian 
system, forming, as it must, the very foundation upon which the 
continuance of our story will rest. As one of the very few 
old landmarks the " Lancasterian School House " stands at 
the corner of Prince and Chestnut, rich in traditional lore — a 
constant reminder of those early days when the men already 
mentioned and others, gave the best years of their lives in 
launching our educational ship of State on the surging waters 
of a capricious public sentiment. 

The question may naturally arise how the Lancasterian sys- 
tem came to be established in Lancaster city. The story, aside 
from its historical significance, is none the less interesting from 
a local standpoint: In the year 1820, William Augustus 
Muhlenberg, D.D., who wrote that ever-to-be-remembered 
hymn, " I would not live alway," entered Lancaster as the 
Pastor of Saint James' Church. Born in Philadelphia, Sep- 
tember, 1796, he grew into manhood a Christian philanthropist 
as well as a fervent patriot and minister of the Gospel. After 
a time, he was appointed by the Court of Common Pleas of 

34 






'/'^^ o^M- .il^yj/t^^^Ui^^e.^'^^ii^^^'^^''-^-^^ 



■^ 









•'CJl(£jLf 






/0ta-f2^cj &^^Ct.^y<^^ is»-t<?-<**t <t-e-> 



/tcJ ,otcJ9 f:2i^^ 



//ni^**'' 






^;<')(;«rZ^<^''»-<^Z^^''»»^<'-'<^*"^^^'^^^^^*^^^ <sfc«^-y^^'/- 



C.J^ 



'M^^l/lyijte^ /63^>t.JI^^'tJ^^^5tJ7^i:?^/2*--^ e 



e_e. -t>'-^ 



t«n^/C 



■/' 



-^«:^ 



J. BARRETT KERFOOT'S ADDRESS TO LAFAYETTE. 



LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 35 

Philadelphia as one of the directors under the Lancasterian 
system of schools for said city. There he remained active in 
the discharge of his pastoral and pul)lic duties until called to 
officiate as Pastor of Saint James' in the year above mentioned. 

His biographer has only too truly said, " The christianizing 
of education when he entered Lancaster, was more than ever 
the one predonu'nant theme of his reveries, and he took pm'e 
delight in every step toward the fruition of his plans. His 
lively affection for the young, the talent he felt he possessed 
for interesting them, and above all, his appreciation of the 
influence of their training upon coming generations, combined 
with the public sentiment so strong within him, served to shed 
a lustre on those days of anticipation which brightened his 
horizon far and near.'' 

" With this public sentiment so strong within him," he quietly 
set himself to work and finally obtained the passage of a bill 
through the Legislature making Lancaster city and the bor- 
oughs of the county the Second School District. This nnich 
having been accomplished he was appointed by the Court of 
Common Pleas one of the twelve directors, and immediately 
interested himself in the erection of a building capable of seat- 
ing 600 children and costing something like $6,000. 

In addition, it may be said that, being a firm believer in the 
" monitorial system," he selected from the school a number 
of the more exemplary boys and girls to ce)mpose a class of 
monitors, who were to receive instruction by themselves. 
From this number, he took two of the boys to live with him 
under his own roof. They later became the first tutors in the 
Institute at Flushing, Long Island. 

As the names of William and Frederick Muhlenberg have 
been so closely associated with the early school system of 
Lancaster, a short sketch of the founder of the American family 
may not be out of place, in view of the services rendered the 
cause of education here and elsewhere. 



36 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg had three sons. John Peter 
Gabriel took orders in both the Lutheran and English churches. 
It was he who at the outbreak of the Revolution threw off his 
gown in the pulpit, displaying a military uniform, read his 
commission as Colonel, and ordered the drums to beat for re- 
cruits. Frederick Augustus held high offices in the State, was 
a member of Congress, and first Speaker in the House of 
Representatives in Washington's administration. Henry Ernst 
was a Lutheran pastor. 

Frederick A., the second of the three brothers, had a son 
William, who was the father of the Rev. William Augustus 
Muhlenberg, and a cousin of Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, 
M.D., the youngest child of Rev. Henry Ernst Muhlenberg, 
the grandfather of Dr. Henry E. Muhlenberg, who served 
as a school director during the early sixties ; also the great- 
grandfather of Paymaster J. C, and Henry Muhlenberg, 
practising physician in this city. Frederick Augustus was not 
only one of the twelve directors appointed by the court under 
the Lancasterian system, but continued as a director for many 
years under the free school system. 

It has been said that Lancaster city and the boroughs of the 
county constituted the second school district under the act of 
1820: an item in the Intelligencer of this date conveys the in- 
formation that a petition of thirty signers was presented to the 
Court of Common Pleas, praying for the establishment of the 
system in the borough of Marietta. There is evidence that the 
borough of Columbia adopted the Lancasterian system along 
about the same time it went into eft'ect in this city. How long 
the act remained in force in these respective districts is difficult 
to determine, owing to the fact that the school boards' records 
of those early years are no longer in evidence. Out of the 
sixty-odd districts of the county, there is possibly not a single 
one outside of the school district of Lancaster city, that has 
preserved, in manuscript form, its monthly minutes. Except 




DR. FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG. 



LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 37 

in a very few instances, the records, dating back a score of 
years only, have been thrust aside as of no particular value. 
This is all the more to be regretted when it is considered what 
a handsome addition each school board's minutes would make 
to the various school libraries of the county. The writer has 
searched in vain for the past records of a scIkjoI district here 
and there, 1)ut all to no purpose — a sad reminder of forget- 
fulness on the part of those entrusted with the management of 
the public schools in this as well as in other counties of the 
commonwealth. 

The second episode, a memorable one in the history of the 
Chestnut and Prince street school, and one which should ever 
be remembered by the rising generation, was General Lafay- 
ette's visit, on July 28, 1825, when he honored the teachers, 
directors and pupils of the Lancasterian school with his pres- 
ence. Of this event the following has been preserved : 

" About eleven o'clock the General visited the Lancasterian 
school. On getting out of his carriage he was received by the 
teachers (Mr. Varian and Miss Musser), and conducted into 
the female department where the children of both schools to 
the number of three hundred and thirty were assembled. The 
boys, arrayed in blue sashes were arranged on the right, each 
having been furnished with a bunch of laurels. The girls, 
dressed in white with pink sashes, each holding a beautiful 
bouquet of wild flowers, were seated on the left. A number 
of white banners bearing the revered names of Washington, 
Lafayette, and many of the most distinguished statesmen of 
Pennsylvania, among which Franklin and Penn are con- 
spicuous, were displayed by the children on each side of the 
room. The other seats were occupied by one hundred and 
thirty ladies. The windows were neatly decorated with festoons 
of evergreens. The east end of the room presented three 
splendid full-length transparencies — the Genius of Liberty 
standing on America, supported by Washington and Lafayette. 
5 



38 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

When the General reached the door of the apartment, all rising 
from their seats, greeted him by joining in the chorus — 

' Hero, hail ! all hail to thee, 
Champion of our Liberty ! ' 

" LTpon the General's reaching the seat prepared for him on 
the platform, a small boy between nine and ten years of age 
delivered an address of his own composition (!) in which, after 
giving the general a cordial welcome in the name of his school- 
fellows, and recommending the cause of education generally, 
and the Lancasterian system particularly to his attention, he 
slightly adverted to the services the illustrious visitor had ren- 
dered the cause of our country, and concluded by wishing him 
a safe return to his native land. 

" When the youth concluded, the music struck up ' Lafay- 
ette's Welcome,' in the chorus of which the children and audi- 
ence joined with the utmost enthusiasm, the former waving 
their bunches of laurels and wild flowers (which imtil then 
had been concealed) in tune to the words: 

' Huzza, huzza, huzza, to hail the nation's guest ! ' 

" The effect was magical. Many of the audience could not 
refrain from tears, while the good, philanthropic Lafayette a])- 
peared almost overcome by the intensity of his feelings. 

"He was then conducted around the room by the teachers 
and introduced to the ladies and gentlemen present. On his 
return to the platform he addressed the company, expressing 
great satisfaction, that a system of education at once so rational 
and equitable was gaining ground in this enlightened country. 
He observed that two of his grandchildren were now being 
educated in Paris in a school upon the Lancasterian plan where 
the languages and some of the higher branches of education 
were taught with the most promising results." 

And here, it may be said, that the boy mentioned above was 
none other than John Barrett Kerfoot, who, in after years be- 




GENERAL LAFAYETTE. 




AMOS SLAYMAKER. 



LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 39 

came President of Trinity College, and the first Bishop of the 
Diocese of Pittsljurg. 

The third i)oint : There is a living witness connecting the 
present with those memorable, by-gone days — who gives addi- 
tional interest to General Lafayette's visit to this city. 

" I recall it as distinctly as though an occurrence of yester- 
day," remarked the venerable Amos Slaymaker, wdio, as the 
records of the Lancaster school board show, is the oldest living 
ex-director, having been elected in 1852, and annually there- 
after for ten years. " It was during Lafayette's visit to this 
city in 1825," he continued as we strolled together in one of 
his periodical walks, " that he was the guest of my father. At 
the time I was in my seventh year. He grasped my hand ; a 
moment later I was resting upon his knee, where I sat for 
quite a time, as he conversed with father and a few friends who 
had gathered to pay him their respects. Although many years 
have come and gone, I have never forgotten his features. 
They are indelibly impressed upon the tablets of my memory." 

What a historic connecting link, binding together the child- 
hood of two centuries ! Long may the Major be spared to 
meet in his strolls the many who call him friend. 

Respecting moral and religious training, apart from the 
purely secular, as given from time to time in this school, the 
author has discovered a variety of " school cards " and 
" charts," designed as " Aids in Moral Training," the purpose 
of which was " to render efficient aid to the instructors ; en- 
couragement to intellectual development of the moral character 
of the pupil, and to win the cooperation of parents and 
guardians." In many instances, plain pine boards, twelve by 
twenty inches, were hung upon the walls, upon which were 
printed, " Lessons adapted to the Lancasterian system of teach- 
ing," designated more particularly " scriptural reading lesson." 
Among the "Characteristics to be Cultivated," were, "Good 
Scholars Will Be Amiable, Afifectionate, Attentive, Benevolent, 



40 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Conscientious, Consistent, Disinterested, Frank, Filial, Forgiv- 
ing, Grateful, (icncrous. Humane, Honorable, Humble, In- 
genuous, Industrious, Modest, Mannerly, Obedient, Punctual, 
Patient, Self-Denying, Sincere, Studious." In a corresponding 
column directly oposite were, " Characteristics not to be Cul- 
tivated — Unamiable, Malicious, Heedless, Covetous, Unscrupu- 
lous, Capricious, Selfish, Intriguing, Disobedient, Revengeful, 
Unthankful, Parsimonious, Arrogant, Unskilful, Slothful, Im- 
pudent, Disrespectful, Obstinate, Dilatory, Fretful, Intempe- 
rate, Thoughtless." 

Among the efifects of the late John Zimmerman, the writer 
was rewarded in finding a small leather-l)()und volume, con- 
taining " sentiments and regulations " adopted by the members 
of the school, " for nnitual improvement an<l mutual happi- 
ness." As many of these old " maxims " are as apropos to 
the youth of our city today as they were in times gone by, a 
few conspicuous examples are herein reproduced, namely : 
" Though a man may become learned by another's learning, he 
can never be wise except by his own wisdom — The coin that 
is most current among mankind, is flattery, the only benefit of 
which is, we may be instructed what we ought to be — He who 
tells a lie is not sensible how great a task he undertakes, for 
he must be forced to invent twenty more to maintain that one — 
Economy is no disgrace ; it is better to live on a little, than 
to outlive a great deal — Sloth like rust consumes faster than 
labor wears, while the used key is always bright — God gives 
all things to industry — Plough deep while sluggards sleep and 
you will have corn to sell and keep — I never saw an oft-re- 
moved tree, nor yet an oft-removed family that throve so well 
as that which settled be — Keep thy shop and thy shop will 
keep thee — If you would have your business done, go ; if not, 
send — What maintains one vice would bring up two children — 
Many a little makes a mickle ; a small leak will sink a ship — 
Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou shall be 



LAFAYETTE'S VISIT. 41 

compelled to sell thy necessaries — Silks and satins, scarlet and 
velvets, put out the kitchen fire — A ploughman on his legs is 
higher than a gentleman on his knees — Always taking out of 
the meal tuh, and never putting in. soon comes to tlie hottom — 
If you would know the value of money, go and try to horrow 
some ; for he who goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing — Pride 
that dines on vanitv, sups on contempt ; and Pride breakfasted 
with Plenty, dined with Poverty and supped with Infamy — It 
is hard for an empty bag to stand upright — Creditors have 
better memories than debtors — Those have a short Lent, who 
owe money to be paid at Easter — For age and want save while 
you may ; no morning sun lasts the whole day — Get what you 
can, and what \(^u get hold ; 'Tis the stone that will turn all 
yom' lead to gold — b^.xixn-ience is a dear school, l)ut fools will 
learn in no other — If you will not hear reason, she will siu'ely 
rap your knuckles — It is easier to build two chimneys, than to 
keep one in fuel, So, rather go to bed supperless, than to rise 
in dtbt — When the well is dry, they know the worth of water — 
It is foolish to lay out money in the purchase of repentance, 
and yet this folly is practiced every day at auctions — Who 
dainties love, shall beggars prove — Fools make feasts and wise 
men cat them — If you would have a faithful servant, and one 
you like, serve yourself — /V little neglect may breed great mis- 
chief ; for want of a nail the shoe was lost ; for want of a shoe 
the horse was lost, and for want of a horse the rider was lost 
— Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them v(nu" purse — Sloth 
makes all things dif^cidt, but industry all easy ; and he that 
rises late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his busi- 
ness by night — Drive thy business, let not it drive thee ; early to 
bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and 
wise — The greatest victory a man can obtain, is over himself — 
If there be a greater vice than the hoarding up of riches, it is 
the employing them to useless purposes — One human proposi- 
tion has as much authority as another, if reason makes not 



42 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the difference — Condemn not the judgment of another, because 
it differs from thine own ; may not even both be in error ? — Be 
virtuous while thou art young', so shall thy age be honored — 
The wise begin to live from the first period ; the fool is always 
beginning — Happy is the man who has sown in his bosom the 
seeds of benevolence ; the produce thereof shall be charity and 
love — Virtue is the race which God has set him to run, and 
happiness the goal — Put a bridle to thy tongue, set a guard 
before thy lips, lest the words of thine own mouth destroy thy 
peace — Of much speaking comes repentance, but in silence is 
safety — Whoever speaks of another's failings with pleasure, 
shall hear of his own with bitterness of heart — From the ex- 
perience of others, do thou learn wisdom ; and from their fail- 
ings correct thine own faults — Trust no man before thou hast 
tried him ; yet mistrust not without reason, it is uncharitable. 
But when thou hast proved a man to be honest, lock him up 
in thine heart as a treasure; regard him as a jewel of in- 
estimable value — The fool is not always unfortunate, nor the 
wise man always successful ; yet never had a fool a thorough 
enjoyment, never was a wise man wholly unhappy — And last, 
" The nearest aproach thou canst make to happiness on this 
side of the grave is, to enjoy from heaven understanding and 
health." 

Trite and thrcadworn as many of these old-time maxims 
have become, are they any the less applicable today than they 
were nearly a century ago? Let our boys and girls then lock 
them up in their hearts as priceless treasures — as jewels of 
inestimable value. 



CHAPTER IV. 

JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 

James Buchanan's Prophecy — General System of Education — The 
Act of 1834 — Efforts to Suspend the Same for Five Years — Emanuel 
Reigart's Plea for Reinstatement of Act of 1809 — Thaddeus Stevens to 
the Rescue of the System — Governors Wolf and Ritner — Thomas H. 
Burrowes Appointed Secretary of State — $75,000 School Appropriation 
Increased to $700,000 — Unequal Taxation. 

As we now enter more ftilly tipon the development of the 
free school system, whose untold blessings are too little appre- 
ciated by those who have enjoyed them, it will be necessary to 
refer to what most people have either forgotten or have failed 
to comprehend, namely, that the seven years from 1831 to 
1838 were the most eventful in the annals of school legisla- 
tion in Pennsylvania. It is true the story has often been told 
in connection with other historical events, compelling the 
reader to cull the grain from the chaff ; but it remains for the 
writer to present the facts as they occurred, independent of 
much that may be omitted without doing injustice to the 
system as a whole. 

Remarkable as it may seem, from the time of Thomas MifBin 
the first Governor under the State Constitution of 1790 down 
to the year 1834 when the free school system was inaugurated, 
each of the seven Executives in his message to the Legislature 
made reference to the need of public schools. It was during 
the campaign of Governor Wolf, in the year 1829 that James 
Buchanan, in a public speech, prophesied : " If ever the passions 
of men could be excused in a man ambitious of true glory, he 
might be almost jtistified in envying the fame of that favored 
individttal whom Providence intends to make the instrument of 
establishing common schools throughout this Commonwealth. 

43 



44 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Ages yet unborn and nations yet to come shall bless his 
memory." 

Little imagined Mr. Buchanan, when he gave expression to 
these forcible words, that within five short years his most 
sanguine hopes would be more than realized. However, to 
pass the act through the halls of legislation during the turbu- 
lent sessions of 1834, with as many different opinions as there 
were members, was one thing. To put the scheme into suc- 
cessful operation, in the then one thousand districts of the 
state — among a people, many of whom believed that education 
was not only useless but dangerous to the common welfare — 
was quite another question. Cumbrous and unwieldy, the act 
served but to stir up the deepest feeling of antagonism in all 
parts of the state. If, therefore, the directors of Lancaster 
city, acting under the Lancasterian system, still clung to the old 
for a period of four years, instead of immediately accepting 
the new act, a broad conservative policy justified their position. 

Under the Lancasterian system the Board had the power to 
grade their schools, establishing such as their judgment might 
suggest, or in accordance with the wishes of parents who were 
willing to pay for the education of their children in the higher 
branches. This power was not expressly given in the law of 
1834 ; it provided, however, " that each district should maintain 
a sufficient number of common schools for the education of 
every child within the limits thereof." But it did not even fix 
the age-limit of the child. In the law of 1836, every individual 
above the age of four was included ; later, the supplement of 
1849 fixed it between five and twenty-one. 

Then as now, the greatest diversity of opinion existed as to 
the branches to be taught. The opinion of the people at large 
was no doubt in favor of the mere elements of Reading, Writ- 
ing and Arithmetic ; not, however, in the contracted sense the 
words imply ; for, to be well grounded in these three, conveyed 
altogether a different meaning to the people of that early day 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 45 

than that given at the present time. It goes without saying 
that many of the voters had " instructed " their representatives 
accordingly ; hut the latter, swayed hy argument of superior in- 
telligence, were persuaded into giving their votes for the new 
system, without inquiring into future consecpiences. 

It was not, however, that all legislators of intellect and 
power were arrayed on the majority-side of the CDUimon school 
question; for, during the session of 1831-2-3, Thomas H. Bur- 
rowes, then a member of the lower House from this county, 
voted with the opponents of a general system of education. 
But Thomas H. Burrowes, unlike the man who " convinced 
against his will is of the same opinion still," candidly acknowl- 
edged when he later became Secretary of State under Gov- 
ernor Ritner, " that he knew about as much of education as 
he did of the geography of the moon." But he was a man 
broad enough and great enough to acknowledge his mistake, 
and to make up for it royally. 

Pennsylvania, at that early day, was not without its faithful 
champions of free schools in the halls of legislation, men from 
all parts of the state who stood nobly by their convictions. 

As earlv as 1827, William Audenreid, of Schuylkill county, 
had introduced into the Senate a bill " to provide for a fund 
in support of a General System of education in Pennsylvania." 
It was not, however, until four years' later that the following 
act was passed : " That there shall be and hereby is estab- 
lished a fund, to be denominated a Common School Fund ; that 
the interest accruing shall be added annually, until the interest 
of the whole shall amount to $100,000 annually, after which, 
the interest shall yearly be distributed and applied to the sup- 
port of common schools throughout this commonwealth, in 
such manner as shall hereafter be provided by law." 

A noted writer has said, " It was a safe beginning to provide 
the money before the system was established ; but in the end 
the schools came before the money thus provided." It was 



46 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the intention of the promoters of the scheme that, after ten 
years there should be several millions in the treasury, sufficient, 
at least, to build the school houses and for a time make the ' 
system self-sustaining, with such additional assistance as a 
small tax levy might afford. 

But the act of 1834 was more specific; it held out no "ten- 
year-promises-to-pay " ; it provided an annual appropriation to 
each district accepting the same. This appropriation for the 
whole state amounted to $75,000 per annum in 1834, which, 
being divided into one thousand parts, left each district but a 
small allowance. It seemed large in the aggregate, but failed 
to materialize, as an aid in constructing school houses and 
paying the teachers. However, in Lancaster county alone, out 
of the thirty districts, fourteen accepted the system during the 
first year after its enactment, with fifteen rejecting it, and one 
not accounted for. It is barely possible that this lone district 
may have been the one that remained out of the fold until 1868, 
wdien through the effort of State Superintendent Wickersham, 
it received sufficient back appropriation to bring about the 
construction of nine new school buildings. 

The writer distinctly recalls being present at the first ex- 
amination of teachers held in this district in 1868 by the late 
David Evans, County Superintendent of schools. For a period 
of thirty-four years, from 1834 until 1868 this independent dis- 
trict elected its corps of teachers annually, paid them out of 
taxes collected from the people, requiring them to undergo 
such examination as the " justice " of the township was capable 
of conducting. But when the time came for the newer order 
of procedure to go into effect, there was consternation among 
the nine old schoolmasters, compelled as they were to stand 
face to face with the county examiner. In the solution of the 
simplest question in mental arithmetic, one by one the nine 
old masters fell by the wayside. However indisposed, the 
school board was compelled to fall back on a younger corps of 
instructors with the advantage of Normal School training. 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 47 

At the time of the passage of the act of 1834, James Findlay 
was Secretary of the Commonweahh, later becoming the first 
Superintendent of Common Schools. He was the son of Wil- 
liam Findlay, fonrth Governor nnder the Constitntion of 1790; 
was a lawyer by profession, and represented Westmoreland 
connty. While a man of liberal education, it is said, he per- 
formed his duties as vSuperintendent of schools in a manner 
wholly clerical ; simply sitting" in his office giving information, 
expounding obscure points in the law, and receiving such 
reports as were forwarded to him. He was, however, a safe, 
conservative officer, but he had neither the talent, the taste 
nor the temper to fight a great moral battle, or to general a 
great reform. 

In consequence of this state of afifairs there arose nuich dis- 
satisfaction, and with the incoming of the Legislature of 1835, 
there came from all parts of the state petitions praying for the 
repeal of the law. Lancaster county alone sent in eightv-two 
remonstrances, with 3,322 signers, all calling for the repeal of 
the obnoxious system. 

It was at this session of 1835, that the attitude of the Senate 
threatened disaster to the infant school system. This body had 
scarcely more than organized, when, on December 15, the 
following resolution was ofit'ered : " Resolved, That the Com- 
mittee on Education be instructed to inquire into the ex- 
pediency of suspending for a term of five years the Act en- 
titled an ' Act to establish a General System of Common 
Schools,' passed on the first day of April 1834, so that the fund 
may increase to a sufficient extent to become more useful in its 
distribution." 

lliis was followed on F'ebruary 20 by a bill to suspend the 
operation of the free school law for five years. Being amended 
in various particulars, it passed the Senate on March 19, under 
the title : " An act providing for the education of the poor 
gratis, and to repeal the act of the first day of April 1834." 
6 



48 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

The test vote shows nineteen yeas to eleven nays. Among 
those voting against free schools were thirteen Senators who 
had voted for them the year hefore. Well, indeed, had the 
champions of the system cause to stand appalled, defeat staring 
them in the face ! 

While the city of Lancaster had nothing to lose, not yet hav- 
ing taken advantage of the act of 1834, its representative in 
the House, Emanuel C. Reigart was a member of the Educa- 
tional Committee. This committee was united in the opinion 
that some modification of the act of 1834 was necessary before 
it could go into practical effect. While the majority of the 
committee was in favor of the law, with reasonable modifica- 
tions, Mr. Reigart, though, as he stated, " not opposed to a 
general and enlarged system of education," dissented, giving 
in substance the following reasons : 

"That the Constitution of 1790 was fulfilled in the passage' 
of the Act of 1809 providing for free education of the poor; it 
was extremely doubtful whether it would not be an open viola- 
tion of the Constitution to attempt to establish upon it a system 
of universal education as proposed ; that the system having 
continued for twenty-five years must have some merit ; that 
the school fund provided for by the Act of 1831., had not yet 
reached the amount at which the interest could be legally dis- 
tributed for school purposes, and that the act of 1834 was 
therefore premature ; that under the present system with the 
money then provided, the schools could not be kept open more 
than two months in the year ; that the poor were better off 
under the act of 1809, and that no general system of education 
based on taxation could at this time be adopted without doing 
great injury and much injustice to the agricultural interests 
of the country." 

" That the Commonwealth was financially embarrassed and 
could not bear the weight of additional tax for schools. The 
people have now their county tax, their road tax, their poor 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 49 

tax, their personal property tax and their state tax. Impose 
additional burdens upon them and they will be compelled to 
leave the homes of their childhood and the graves of their 
fathers and migrate to the unknown regions of the ' far west/ 
there to enjoy in peace and tranquillity the well-earned rewards 
of their labor and toil." 

It was an appeal such as occasionally sways the multitude 
even at the present day ; and it was the key-note of the anti- 
school men ; and no one was better able to champion their cause 
than Mr. Reigart. 

Seventy years have come and gone since he so graphically 
pictured the Commonwealth as " financially embarrassed." 
Imagine his surprise were he a member of the House of 
Representatives of the present day, when $11,000,000 are ap- 
propriated biennially for the support of the common schools ! 
His worst fears have been more than realized. Yet how few 
have " migrated to the L'nknown Regions of the Far West !" 

While argument on the score of economy appealed with 
much force to the doubtful and hesitating, there was one other 
element to be considered. A new champion was to enter the 
arena at the critical moment — Thaddeus Stevens. With a deep 
conviction of the justice of his cause, he came to the rescue of 
the much-abused system. 

In the Senate, as has been said, the motion for the repeal of 
the act of 1834 had already been adopted, and the act of 1809, 
for the free education of the poor, substituted. From that 
body the resolution went to the House, among whose members 
the sentiment against the " iniquitous " free school system was 
equally pronounced. Many of them, like the Senators, had 
been elected on a strictly " free school " issue. 

It has been related by an eye-witness that the battle opened 
with the forces of the opposition in jubilant mood. On the 
one side of the House sat Thaddeus Stevens calm and self- 
reliant, in all the vigor of his young manhood, surrounded by a 



50 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

few of his faithful adherents. When the critical moment came, 
he took his seat in the broad middle aisle facing the speaker's 
desk. Wrought up to a pitch of intense excitement, he slowly 
arose, amid the silence which everywhere prevailed. Of the 
master speech he made only a few extracts can be given in 
this work, as follows : 

" I will briefly give you the reasons why I shall oppose the 
repeal of the school law. This law was passed at the last 
session of the Legislature with unexampled unanimity, but one 
member of the House voting against it. It has not yet come 
into operation, and none of its effects have been tested by ex- 
perience in Pennsylvania. The passage of such a law is en- 
joined by the Constitution and has been recommended by every 
Governor since its adoption. Much to his credit, it has been 
warmly urged by the present Executive in his annual messages 
delivered at the opening of the Legislature. To repeal it now, 
before its practical efi^ects have been discovered, would argue 
that it contained some glaring and pernicious defect, and that 
the last Legislature acted under some strong and fatal delusion 
which blinded every man of them to the interests of the Com- 
monwealth. 

" It would seem to be humiliating to be under the necessity, 
in the nineteenth century, of entering into a formal argument 
to prove the utility, and to free governments the absolute 
necessity, of education. ]\Iore than two thousand years ago, 
the deity who presided over intellectual endowments ranked 
highest for dignity, chastity and virtue, among the godesses 
worshipped by cultivated pagans. And I will not insult this 
House or our constituents by supposing any course of reason- 
ing necessary to convince them, of its high importance. Such 
necessity would be degrading to a Christian age and a free 
republic. 

" But we are told that this law is unpopular, that the people 
desire its repeal. Has it not always been so with every new 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 51 

reform in llic condition of man? Old habits and (jld prcjutliccs 
arc hard to he removed from the mind. Every new improve- 
ment which has been t^rachially lea(hni^" from the savage 
throngh the civiHzed up to a highly cultivated state, has re- 
quired the most strenuous and often perilous exertions of the 
wise and good. lUit. sir. much of its unpopularity is charge- 
able upon the vile arts of unprincipled demagogues. Instead 
of attempting to remove the honest misapprehensions of the 
people, they cater to their prejudices, and take advantage of 
them to gain low, dirty, temporary, local triumphs. I do not 
charge this on any particular party. Unfortunately, almost 
the only spot on which all parties meet in union, is this ground 
of common infamy. 

" I have seen the present chief magistrate (Governor Wolf) 
of this Commonwealth violently assailed as the projector and 
father of this law. I am not the eulogist of that gentleman ; 
he has been guilty of many deep political sins. But he de- 
serves the undying gratitude of the people for the steady, un- 
tiring zeal which he has manifested in favor of common 
schools. I will not say his exertions in that cause have covered 
all, but they have atoned for many of his errors. I trust that 
the people of this State will never be called upon to choose 
between a supporter and an opposer of free schools. But if 
ft should come to that, if that is to be made the turning-point 
on which we are to cast our suffrages, if the opponent of 
education were my most intimate personal and political friend, 
and the free school candidate my most obnoxious enemy, I 
should deem it my duty, as a patriot, at this moment of our 
intellectual crisis, to forget all other considerations and place 
myself, iiiiJicsitatingly and cordially, in the ranks of Him whose 
banner streams in light." 

At the conclusion of this master effort, the House broke into 
the wildest expressions of delight. The magical closing sen- 
tence was caught up and passed from lip to lip. Before the 



52 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

vote was taken it was felt that the Senate hill was heaten, 
and the system in its crude form, respited, at least for another 
year. 

It is recorded by John W. Forney, in an elaborate article 
published in the Washington Chronicle, upon the life and char- 
acter of the oreat Commoner, on the occasion of his death, that 
" immediately after Mr. Stevens concluded his great effort^, he 
received a message from Governor Wolf, then Democratic 
Governor of Pennsylvania, and a leading member of the 
Masonic fraternity. Governor Wolf was the firm friend of 
popular education. Of a different and more methodical char- 
acter, he did not and could not bring to the movement the at- 
tributes with wdiich God had clothed Mr. Stevens ; but he was 
earnest and sincere. When Thaddeus Stevens, in response to 
his invitation, entered the Executive Chamber, he threw his 
arms around his neck, and, with tearful eyes and broken voice, 
thanked him for the great service he had rendered to our com- 
mon humanity." 

If to Governor Wolf belongs the honor of having inaugu- 
rated the School System of Pennsylvania, to Thaddeus Stevens 
and to Governor Ritner should be accorded the credit of pre- 
serving it at a crisis when in imminent danger of being over- 
thrown. Graced, it has been said, with less school education 
than any other Governor who ever occupied the chair of 
state, yet he manifested a zeal in its defense unsurpassed by 
any, and when the fair fabric won by his predecessor with 
great labor and tribulation was rent and torn by ignorance 
and malice, and it was likely to be given up to utter destruc- 
tion, Ritner bared his arm for the conflict, and came forth 
triumphant, winning laurels which shall never fade. 

And now, after more than seventy years have rolled by since 
the event above recorded transpired in the hall of legislation, 
what more deserving compliment could be paid to the memory 
of any man than the naming of the girls' high school building 




GEORGE WOLF, Governor from 1829 to 1835. 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 53 

in course of erection, the Stevens High School ? Associated 
with this handsome structure, we must ever recall the names of 
Wolf, Ritner, and Stevens. Gratifying-, indeed, is the addi- 
tional fact, that in after years, Thaddeus Stevens and Thomas 
H. Burrowes served as directors of the Lancaster School 
Board. 

Closely connected with the local histor\- of Lancaster county 
is the name of Joseph Ritner. Although a native of Berks 
county, it is recorded in the " Biographical History " published 
in this city some years ago that, " as a young man he was for 
some time in the employ of Peter Reist of Warwick township. 
And that years later, when he became Governor, he paid a 
visit and spent a night with Jacob Reist, who had been his 
playmate when in the employ of Peter, his father, when he 
made numerous observations of the changes that had taken 
place on the farm since he had lived in that section." It 
is further related in the same work, that wdien he became Gov- 
ernor, " he concluded in his own mind to tender the Secretary 
of State to Amos Ellmaker, of this city, who declined the 
office but recommended Thomas H. Burrowes, who had studied 
law in his office and to whom he felt attached. He assured 
the Governor that Mr. Burrowes was fully competent for the 
position, and if any assistance would be needed he would cheer- 
fully render him any aid." 

It is further stated in " Lives of the Governors of Pennsyl- 
vania " that in 1861, when the Normal School at Edinboro, 
Erie County was recognized and adopted by the state. Dr. 
Burrowes, who was then Superintendent, appointed Joseph 
Ritner, his old friend and associate of a preceding generation, 
one of the inspectors. And though at that time at the age of 
eighty-three he accepted the appointment, and made the long 
journey of more than five hundred miles from his home in 
Washington county, by rail and stage, with the alacrity and 
pleasure of a boy of sixteen." He died on the i6th day of Oc- 
tober, 1869, in the ninetieth year of his age. 



54 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

We have yet to relate another episode — the cHmax of the 
drama : the conversion to the good cause of Thomas Henry 
Burrowes. While the Legislature of 1835 and 1836 was in 
session, it will be recalled, that Governor Ritner's Secretary 
of State (and Superintendent of schools) was none other than 
the same Burrowes, who, in 1831 and 1832 had voted with 
the opponents of a general system of education. 

At the time of his appointment to this important position, 
he was only thirty years of age. Naturally his selection was 
very distasteful to the friends of free schools, especially to the 
old soldiers in the Legislature who had fought so long to 
establish them. But never were men more agreeably disap- 
pointed. Ignorant of the duties but determined to master 
them, oppressed with the magnitude of the undertaking but 
not shrinking from it, with increasing strength and growing 
interest as the task progressed the new State Superintendent 
began the task of putting the new system into operation. 

During the three years he remained in office he pressed the 
work on with so much ability and zeal, and with such a 
measure of success, that his name well deserves to be ranked 
among the chief benefactors of free schools, of which each and 
every county has had its supporters. Out of office Mr. Bur- 
rowes continued to serve the cause he had learned to love as a 
contributor of educational articles to newspapers and maga- 
zines, as the founder of the Pennsylvania School Journal, as 
a lecturer in teachers' institutes and educational meetings, and 
as the friend and advisor of young teachers. Of his later life, 
as it shall evolve during two decades, in which he served con- 
tinuouslv as a member of the Lancaster city school board, more 
will be said as my story continues. 

At the session following in the Legislature of 1836, the 
battle was renewed but under somewhat altered conditions. 
It was then that Mr. Burrowes as Secretary of State, presented 
substantially a new bill to the Legislature, " Entitled an Act 




JOSEPH RITNER, Governor from 1835 to 1839. 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 55 

to consolidate and Amend the Several Acts Relative to a 
General System of Education by Common Schools." No 
sooner was this act passed than Philadelphia accepted its pro- 
visions, thus abandoning- the Lancasterian system. Two years 
later, in 1838, Lancaster city followed the Quaker city's lead. 

Summing up the advantages of the act of 1836 over those of 
1834, a well known writer has drawn this distinction : 
'' Under the first law of 1834, when the system was once ac- 
cepted there was no way of setting it aside : under the later 
act, however, an accepting district could vote to continue or 
discontinue it, every three years. This privilege of voting 
" schools " or " no schools " was entirely changed in the year 
1848. Down to this year, the state appropriations were avail- 
able by districts accepting the act, without qualifying condi- 
tions. Since then school boards, in order to receive " state 
aid " have been compelled to conform to all the provisions 
that from time to time have been passed by the Legislature, 
the State Superintendent being the final judge of their com- 
pliance with the conditions. 

Without anticipating coming events, it may be said that for 
a period of fifty years, the Lancaster school board has been 
in a constant state of uncertainty as to the relation it has borne 
to the various legislative acts. Time and again has the ques- 
tion been raised, and numerous have been the battles waged 
as to the exact relation the Lancaster school board had borne, 
at first to the act of 1834 and 1836, then to that of 1850, and 
1854, and later to that of 1868. 

That the school board of this city is acting under a special 
provision of the legislature, the foregoing acts make perfectly 
clear. However, there is one other provision of the common 
school law, bearing with equal force upon all the districts of 
the state that should not be passed over by the reader without 
a clear conception of its meaning. Not all the brilliant 
speeches set forth in committee or on the floor of House or 



56 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Senate, except possibly that of Thaddens Stevens, has been as 
potent in moulding' public sentiment in favor of the system, 
as the fact of the state appropriation. It was, and ever has 
been the saving provision in the act of 1834: it came like oil 
thrown upon the troubled waters — a panacea for nearly all 
the ills with which the system has been surrounded. 

For more than a third of a century the writer has been ob- 
serving the effect of the possible loss of the state appropria- 
tion on many of the rural districts of the commonwealth in 
case of their refusal to accept the various Legislative enact- 
ments. Ihit however distasteful these were to certain sects, 
they have been accepted in the end with becoming resigna- 
tion. For a non-compliance with the law meant the loss of 
the annual state appropriation. 

When the act requiring physiology and hygiene to be taught 
in all the schools of the state was passed by the Legislature, 
as only one of many studies yearly added to the curriculum, it 
met with the most determined opposition on the part of cer- 
tain religious denominations. They stood in open rebellion 
against its enforcement. In certain portions of this county, 
the presidents of school boards were compelled, either to dis- 
card this branch of study or undergo a course of religious dis- 
cipline of so drastic a nature as to make life scarcely worth 
the living. This opposition continued with more or less 
severity until attention was called to the fact that non-com- 
pliance with the law meant the loss of the state's bounty. And 
then^ ! 

These conditions which prevailed in many of the rural dis- 
tricts of the state, were to some extent present in the Lan- 
caster city school board, as the reader shall learn in due time. 
Men of great legal acumen stood for a time by their convic- 
tions in upholding the provisions of the special acts of 1850 
and in refusing to accept the new things ; but when it seemed 
the state appropriation was in danger, they yielded their con- 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 57 

victions to the money consideration involved. For, the loss of 
it threatened the very existence of the schools, and was of more 
consequence than the minor principle at issue. But some of 
the insurgents stood iirm. 1 here was one notable instance, as 
will be observed later, when an objector on the Lancaster board 
actually resigned his seat sooner than accept the provisions 
of the act of 1854 em[)owering- the County vSuperintendent with 
authority over the schools of this city. But time has demon- 
strated that after all there is no such thing as local school 
government where it runs counter to the various acts of As- 
sembly. In this connection it will readily be seen as my 
narrative continues, that local taxation for school purposes 
was the rock upon which the infant system came so nearly 
being' wrecked — even before it had time to demonstrate its 
superiority over the act of 1809, as well as over that of 1822, 
under which the Lancasterian system had been operating in 
this city. 

It will be recalled further, that, in the year 1834, the state 
appropriation for the entire commonwealth was but $75,000. 
In 1836, however, it was increased to $200,000, when to the 
surprise of friend and foe. Governor Ritner suggested that it 
be further increased to $800,000. The Legislature voted 
$700,000, as a comi)romise — the largest sum set apart for 
school purposes for more than a generation following. 

Included in this magnificent bounty was a portion of the 
surplus revenue distributed at the time by the General Govern- 
ment among the several states. Of this large amount, how- 
ever, only a small portion was intended to be applied by the 
various districts to the payment of teachers, but full\- five hun- 
dred thousand dollars was to be set apart for the erection of 
school houses, and was called by the Governor the " school 
house fund." It came at a most opportune moment. 

In his second annual message, Governor Ritner urged a 
permanent annual appropriation of $300,000. In his third 
7 



58 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

message he advised the separation of the office of Secretary 
of the Commonwealth and Superintendent of Common Schools. 
This change, however, did not follow until some twenty years 
later. 

The large appropriation of $700,000, acceptable as it was at 
the time to every school district in the state, was not long to 
endure ; for, a year or two later, it was changed to a dollar for 
each taxable inhabitant. Ten years thereafter, or in the year 
1852, the appropriation did not reach forty cents for each tax- 
able. It will be well for the reader to note closely the growth 
of this state aid, especially in our own city. As a somewhat 
singular coincident, it will be noted, that as the total appro- 
priation increased, running into millions annually, the tax rate 
also took an upward tendency. This is equally true of nearly 
all the districts of the state, and proves the truth of the old 
adage, " What comes easy, goes easy." 

In many of the school districts of the commonwealth, the 
$11,000,000 biennial bounty has served a noble purpose in the 
erection of new school houses : in others, it has been wasted 
in the purchase, at exorbitant prices, of utterly worthless 
school apparatus. On the other hand, a few school boards be- 
lieved, clinging tenaciously to the notion, that their allotment 
of the $11,000,000 was sufficient to run their schools inde- 
pendent of all local taxation for school purposes. Along 
this line of fallacious reasoning, a number of school boards 
of rural districts of the state, managed, by practising the 
closest economy, to carry on the schools out of their pro-rata 
share of the state appropriation. This condition, however, 
was not long to endure, wherein school districts were allowed 
to pauperize their teachers in the face of this magnificent 
annual bounty. With evidence furnished by the Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction with reference to this deplorable 
condition of affairs, the Legislature only recently passed an 
act fixing the minimum salary that could be paid the teachers of 



JAMES BUCHANAN'S PROPHECY. 59 

Pennsylvania. Tims are all school boards compelled to levy 
a tax somewhat in proportion to the state's bounty. 

If the author has somewhat anticipated coming" events, it 
may serve all the better to enable the reader to understand the 
evolution through which the common school system is to pass 
in the sixty or more years of its history. It may also be well 
for the reader to bear in mind, that during the early part of 
the period of which we speak, little help came from the Legis- 
lature. School boards, after the receipt of the $700,000, built 
their own school houses, and had to pay their teachers largely 
out of the pockets of the taxpayers. 

It may be said, however, that few of the school boards of 
Lancaster county have shown a disposition to eliminate the 
tax rate entirely. Certain districts, more favored as to 
locality, have it is true, managed to run their schools on a one 
mill rate, while others, and notably, many of the boroughs, 
and a few of the townships have been compelled to levy a rate 
of from five to seven niills per annum. We do not mean to 
say that larger salaries have been paid teachers, the length 
of term increased, or that better school houses have been con- 
structed, by the districts upon whom the heavier rate has rested. 
But the fact remains; and these variations, however unjust 
they may seem, are among the school problems for the Legis- 
lature to solve. 

The reader will observe in due time, the force of Dr. 
Wickersham's remarks, as far back as 1877, when he said, 
" Our school laws are a mass of verbiage without logical 
coherence; that ever since the act of 1834 new laws have been 
passed until we have a body of enactments, sometimes in- 
complete, often inconsistent, and always difficult of interpreta- 
tion ; and that owing to the defects in the statutes, there has 
grown up a kind of common law on the subject, consisting of 
the practices of school ofiicers sanctioned by usage and the 
decisions made by the State superintendent," 



60 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

The author is in no way disposed to anticipate coming 
events by declaring that the time is not so far distant when 
school directors, teachers and all others interested in educa- 
tional matters will be aroused to the necessity of a complete 
reorganization of the State school system. There are many 
of our older citizens, here and elsewhere, firmly of the opinion 
that the educational spirit of former times is on the wane. 
This may be for the reason that there is nothing to call it into 
action, to show how deeply it lies in the hearts of our people. 
Let something arise to call it forth, and from a source least 
expected would come a second William Augustus Muhlenberg 
and others who, in the early days stood shoulder to shoulder 
in the uplifting of humanity to a higher degree of intelligence. 
Be this as it may, it would be better far if a little more of the 
early " educational spirit " were daily breathed into the life of 
our present system of schools, to prevent it from becoming a 
dead letter. The public conscience should never rest content 
with the fact that the system needs no quickening until some un- 
fortunate event calls it into action. But inasmuch as our edu- 
cational journey is a long one, extending down through sixty- 
seven years of the school board's proceedings, to dwell at 
greater length upon conditions yet to be recorded in the board's 
minutes, would be to carry the reader beyond events, that must 
take precedence over others to follow in their natural order. 
In closing this chapter, comes the reflection, that it is not so 
much what our schools were seventy years ago, as what they 
are in this year 1904, and what they are to be seventy years 
hence that concerns us. 



CHAPTER V. 

LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 

Lancaster Accepts the Common School Law — x\dam Reigart, the Eirst 
President — Judge Dale, Second President — John King Findlay, the Eirst 
Secretary — George Musser, the First Treasurer — John W. Eorney, the 
Second Secretary — Louis C. Jungerich, the Second Treasurer — Recess 
Instituted — Music Introduced — Lancaster Conservatory of Arts and 
Sciences and City Lyceum. 

It was on the morning- of Jtmc second, 1838, that the Boai"(l 
of Directors of the First Section, Second School District of 
Pennsylvania, tmder the act of 1822, met in s])ecial session, in 
the Lancasterian school building to consider a qtiestion of 
momentous importance to the future of a " Greater Lancaster." 
Hither and thither moved young and old, gathering in little 
groups, anxiously discussing the possible results of the delib- 
erations of this most distinguished body of educators, now in 
earnest consideration of a project whose far-reaching conse- 
Cjuences could not be foreseen by even the wisest of its mem- 
bership. 

Aside from the minutes contained in the first old record 
book, it is well to feel assured that here and there among the 
living is stifficient confirmatory evidence to dispel from the 
mind of the reader any doubt relative to events of which the 
present generation has no personal knowdedge. This meeting, 
with others to follow, is vividly recalled by one of our most 
worthy matrons, then a school girl, now one of the few con- 
necting links between that time and the present. It may, 
therefore, be considered a red-letter day — the beginning of a 
new epoch for the sons and daughters of this young inland 
'town of Lancaster. 

In a little circle, as the scene has been pictured to the writer, 
by an eye witness, sat in the Lancasterian building on this 

61 



62 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

glorious June morning- the following gentlemen, George Mus- 
ser, George H. Krug, William Cooper, Dr. F. A. Muhlenberg, 
Rev. Samuel Bowman, Adam Reigart, Rev. T. Marshall Davie, 
Rev. Bernhard Keenan, Dr. Samuel Humes, Dr. John L. Atlee, 
John Mathiot, John R. Montgomery and John Zimmerman, 
president of Common Council. The Rev. Samuel Bowman 
having been made temporary president and John Zimmerman, 
acting secretary, the roll was called, and the object of the 
meeting stated, " that of taking into consideration the recent 
acts of the Legislature in relation to the schools of this dis- 
trict, and the exposition of the Superintendent of Common 
Schools." The Acts having been severally read the Board 
proceeded to the election of twelve additional directors to act 
until the first Tuesday in May 1839, namely, Samuel F. Dale, 
John F. Steinman, Christopher Hager, Louis C. Jungerich, 
John Baer, Henry Kefifer, John Eberman, Peter M'Conomy, 
David Cockley, John K. Findlay, John Rohrer, and Peter G. 
Eberman. These gentlemen, although not present at this meet- 
ing, had been " recommended to the old Board by the citizens 
at the town meeting the evening previous." 

It must have been a sad parting when the thirteen directors 
acting under the Lancasterian system passed from the Prince 
and Chestnut street building never more to return under the 
older order of procedure. Thenceforth this building was to 
be dedicated to a newer order of intellectual development. 
Almost within the twinkling of an eye the change had taken 
place — a revolution as great from an educational standpoint as 
had been the Declaration of Independence from a national 
point of view. The system, which had started in 1822 under 
such favorable auspices, was at last compelled to give way to 
a new and untried system, which was to meet the wishes of 
every class of people; to overcome the prejudices of those bit- 
terly opposed to the education of the masses, and more par- 
ticularly to reconcile those who, without children themselves, 




THE OLD COURT HOUSE— 1787-1853. 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 63 

were unwilling to be taxed to educate others — these, indeed, 
were difficulties not so easily to be overcome. 

The teachers in the various departments of the l)uilding- were 
also to pass from the old to the new. What their feelings 
were, as they too realized the change that was soon to take 
place, they alone knew. Although few in number, they had 
grown old in the service ; and to be brought face to face with 
the twelve additional directors, with the thought of having to 
change their methods of instruction, if not to give place to 
others younger in years, was a hardship no teacher could be 
expected to bear with instant and complete resignatiou. How 
one by one gradually fell out of the service of the board, poor 
in his world's goods, it is not the place here to describe. It is 
the same, however, in all other departments of life ; the old 
must give way to the }'oung. And yet, how few can look with 
composure upon what, in the inevitable course of events nutst 
sooner or later happen. How best to care for those who have 
taught, some for twenty, thirty or forty years in the public 
schools, is respectfully referred, for a solution, to the distin- 
guished member of the Legislature of this district. 

Twelve days later, on the fourteenth of June, 1838, the joint 
board met for the first time in the old Court House, where 
now stands our beautiful Soldiers' jMonument, to organize a 
system of schools that was to be free to rich and poor alike. 
What may strike the reader as peculiarly exceptional is the 
fact that the first meeting to effect an organization was held 
in the court house instead of in the Lancasterian building. It 
was not that the latter, in which so many meetings had pre- 
viously been held was no longer adapted as a place of meeting ; 
but rather to give emphasis to the idea that the court house, 
erected and supported at the public expense, was more strictly 
in harmony with the principles upon which rested the whole 
fabric of the common school system. It was furthermore a 
lesson in political econoiuy, of more potency than words con- 



64 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

vey, reassuring the people that a system of schools " of the 
people, by the people, and for the people " was henceforth in 
no way to be identified with the Lancasterian system that had 
been tried for over fifteen years and found wanting. 

At this meeting with a duly constituted board of twenty-five 
members, including the president ex-ofificio of common coun- 
cils, the directors proceeded to organize according to law. 
After an hour's close scrutiny of the various acts of Assembly, 
Adam Reigart was duly elected the first President. John King 
Findlay, Secretary, and George Musser, Treasurer. John Yost 
having received a majority of the votes, was declared Tax- 
Collector, and Mathias Zahm, Messenger. 

Up to this time the board, it would seem, had been acting 
without direct authority, the result of the vote, at the previous 
Monday's election, at the town meeting, having been withheld 
until the organization was efifected. In this state of uncer- 
tainty, the members had not long to wait ; for, in due course 
of time the secretary announced the returns, namely, "that five 
hundred and seventy-four votes had been cast in favor of com- 
mon schools to one opposed." This almost unanimous vote 
must have been highly satisfactory to the twenty-five gentle- 
men who sat anxiously awaiting the result. It might be inter- 
esting to know the name of the voter who cast the only negative 
vote. However, there may possibly have been many others 
who had refrained from exercising their right of franchise on 
this important occasion. 

Of the few important positions at the disposal of the board, 
that of tax-collector was possibly the most trying and vexa- 
tious ; for upon his shoulders rested the responsibility of gath- 
ering in the funds wherewith to carry on the schools. In order 
that this officer might demonstrate his fitness for the duties the 
new ofifice entailed, a tax of three thousand dollars was voted 
to be collected from the citizens of the town. Of the success 
which crowned ]\lr. Yost's efforts in this his first venture as 




JOHN KING FINDLAY. 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 65 

tax-collector, no mention is made. The chances are he was 
not received with open arms l)y the bachelors of the town, who 
had not yet been educated in the ethics of " Child Culture " 
and " Kindergarten training," considered so essential at the 
present day as the foundation of a good common school educa- 
tion. 

Along this same line of local taxation for school purposes, 
the committee appointed to make inquiry relative to the per- 
sonal property to be assessed, reported later as follows : " That 
they waited on the County Commissioners and several legal 
gentlemen who unanimously concur in stating, that the ' Act 
assessing a tax on personal property, to be collected with the 
county rates and levies, for the use of the Commonwealth ' 
passed one thousand eight hundred and thirty one, has been 
repealed as a state tax for general purposes, unless in districts 
where the school law has been accepted. Consequently the law 
will be revived in the city of Lancaster as an accepting district." 
This act reads as follows : " That all personal estate and prop- 
erty within this Commonwealth hereafter described, owned or 
possessed, by any person whatever, that is to say, all ground- 
rents, moneys at interest and all debts due from solvent debtors, 
whether by promissory note, except bank-notes, single bill, bond, 
judgment, mortgage and stocks in corporations (wherein shares 
have been subscribed in money) and on which any dividend or 
profit is received by the holder thereof, and public stocks, ex- 
cept stocks issued by this Commonwealth, and all pleasure car- 
riages, kept for use, shall be subject to a yearly tax of one mill 
upon every dollar of the value thereof." After the reading of 
the act, the president was thereupon directed " to request the 
Commissioners of the county to issue their precepts to the as- 
sessors of the city for the assessment of a tax of one mill on 
the personal property, for the present school year." 

To divert the reader's attention for a moment from the finan- 
cial question, it may be well to answer the question naturally 



66 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

to arise " Under what act of Assembly was the old board 
authorized to continue themselves in office under the new sys- 
tem, and to elect the twelve additional directors named at the 
town meeting? " In the fifth section of the local act of 1850, 
relating to Lancaster city, the following provision is embodied : 
" Boards of Directors of said city, in addition to and not incon- 
sistent with those hereby granted and imposed, shall possess 
and exercise all the rights and powers for the purpose of 
education as the twelve directors heretofore appointed by the 
Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster county for the said city, 
by virtue of the Act of Assembly passed on the first day of 
April Anno Domini one thousand, eight hundred and twenty- 
two, entitled ' An act to provide for the education of the chil- 
dren at the public expense within the city and incorporated 
boroughs of the county of Lancaster,' and the supplements 
thereto, including the third section of the act entitled ' An act 
relating to Lafayette College and to public education in the 
city of Lancaster,' passed on the fifteenth day of April, Anno 
Domini one thousand eight hundred and thirty five, so far as 
said rights and powers are consistent with the common school 
system. Provided, That all directors in office at the time of 
the passage hereof shall continue to serve, whether elected or 
appointed as the Board of Directors of the said city till the first 
Tuesday of May next, and shall be reeligible to the office of 
director, anything in this act to the contrary notwithstanding." 

It will readily be seen from the foregoing act that the board 
of directors under the Lancasterian system were clothed with 
ample authority to set the machinery of the new system in 
motion. The election of the twelve additional directors in the 
manner above described, may have been, in their judgment, 
the only proper course consistent with the law. 

A week later, at the meeting June 22, a communication was 
received from Adam Reigart, president of the board, tender- 
ing his resignation of said office, when on motion of Dr. Atlee 
it was 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 67 

'■ Resolved, That the resignation of Mr. Reigart be accepted; 
that his letter be entered at large upon the minutes and that a 
committee of three be appointed to convey to the late president 
the high sense which the members of the board entertain for 
the services which he has heretofore rendered to the cause 
of education." This resolution being unanimously adopted, 
Messrs. Atlee, Hager and Krug were appointed a committee 
for that purpose. 

As Mr. Reigart's letter declining to accept the presidency of 
the Ijoard is so full of deep, tender regard for the directors, 
and especially for those with whom he had served for so many 
years under the Lancasterian system, it is herein reproduced 
with the certainty that the love he bore the cause of education 
will continue to endear his name, even though he no longer 
lives to add the w'eight of his riper judgment as he did during 
those early years. 

" Lancaster, June 20, 1838. 

" Gentlemen : I find myself unecjual to the duties of the 
office 3'OU have been pleased to confer on me and must beg 
leave respectfully to decline it. The President of the Board 
of Public Schools, now about to be remodeled and extended, 
should bring to their supervision a constant and energetic at- 
tention, which I fear at three score and ten I cannot give. The 
subject is too important and the consecjuences too far-reaching 
to permit me to resume the place with the apprehension of 
being unable adequately to fill it. Connected with the cause 
of education from the origin of our schools, be assured that 
approaching age brings with it no more poignant regrets than 
that occassioned by the separation which must now take place. 
Deeply alive to the benefits wdiich must result to the moral, 
social and literary character of our city from the success of the 
present efforts, I lament sincerely that I cannot labor with you 
and do for the rising generation what my own wishes prompt 
and the flattering confidence of my friends seem to require. 
8 



68 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

But I retire from the post I have filled for so many years with 
the consoling reflection that the public mind is now awakened 
to the importance of mental culture for the young, and that in 
the organization of the schools my place will be far better and 
more efficiently filled than it has been. In taking leave of the 
Board, permit me to assure each of you of my best wishes for 
the prosperity of the great cause in which you are now engaged. 
" I am with great respect your friend, 

" Adam Reigart." 

Mr. Reigart lived aljout six years after retiring from the 
board, his death occurring on the third of May, 1844. " The 
death of such a man," wrote John W. Forney, then editor of 
the Intelligencer, " is a public loss. The envy, hatred, malice, 
and all the evil passions of the world are forgotten when the 
remembrance of the embellished purity and long and useful 
services, public and private, of such a man are revived. It is 
rarely that eulogy after death is so true, or the repetition of a 
man's virtues in life is so just as in the present case. It will 
be seen that the respected subject of this notice lived to an 
honorable old age, having died in his seventy-ninth year — and 
yet during all his long life it may be said of him that literally 
he never had an enemy. Calm, dignified and pleasing, he never 
offended in the performance of his official obligations, but 
' bore himself so meekly ' as to become a universal favorite. 
Mr. Reigart was really a gentleman of the old school. He 
was Chief Burgess of the Borough of Lancaster for more than 
thirty years, president of Franklin College ; of the Conestoga 
Navigation company, of the Lancaster and Susquehanna turn- 
pike road, and of the LTnion fire company." 

A letter written by Col. Forney to the late Alfred Sanderson, 
on the fourth of July, 1879, contains the following humorous 
paragraph : "How well I recollect Adam Reigart — his hand- 
some face, erect form, and his c]ueue ! His nutty old Madeira at 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 69 

$i.oo per bottle, and his frisk\- George Whiticar, his Union 
clerk, and the jolly fellows, Harry Rogers, George W. Barton, 
Wm. 15. Fordney, Thomas E. Potter, etc, who would drop in 
upon the ' favorite son of Pennsylvania ' who lived on the same 
street, on the corner of the alley just above Adam Reigart's 
wine store. Mr. lUichanan, though fond of a glass of good 
old rye himself, kept these young roysterers in awe — all but 
Fordney, who still lives to prove that he was never afraid to 
show his sense of the good things of this world, and his honest 
independence of character." 

It was at this meeting that Samuel F. Dale was elected the 
Second President of the Lancaster School Board, to fill the 
vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Reigart, serving in 
said capacity until May tenth, 1839. 

President Dale was born in Chester county July 15, 1773; 
was lieutenant colonel of militia in the war of 1812-14; re- 
moved to Lancaster in 1814; was appointed associate judge of 
Lancaster county courts in 1819; was an active director of 
school affairs under the act of 1822, and was one of the incor- 
porators of the Lancaster Academy under I he act of 1827. He 
resided, until the time of his death in 1842, in the central part 
of the city, fronting Centre Square. Judge Dale was well read, 
conservative in his opinions, a man of sound judgment, and 
characterized by a high sense of honor in all his relations of life. 

It was on the tenth of August, 1838, under Judge Dale's 
presidency, that the following teachers were elected ; they came, 
namely, with the Lancasterian school building, as a sort of 
legacy, to help along the new system in its onward course, and 
at a salary, too, that should leave no cause for envy on the part 
of those who have since taken up the great work of " teaching 
the young idea how to shoot." 

As the teaching force of every city is quite as important as 
the directors who employ them, we give the names of the early 
pioneers of two systems, with their yearly salarv — firsf, the 



70. THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Lancasterian ; second, the free school — namely, Professor Gad 
Day, $800; William F. I'.utler, $350; L. I. Rhoads, $300; 
Jacob Price, $500; Christie Musser, $300; Maria E. Gill, $175; 
Elizabeth Helfenstein, $150; Mary Diller, $175; Margaret 
Robinson, $175; Mary A. Frazer, $250; Catharine E. White, 
$175; Mrs. Prudence M'Gee, $175; Thomas Clark, $500; 
Samuel Dwyer, $300; W. B. Reed, $300; Thomas Yarrell, 
$500. In the old Moravian graveyard, on Prince street, stands 
an old, weather-beaten tombstone, on which is enscribed, 
" Died. June 14, 1844, Thomas Yarrell, sixty years old." 

It was in the following year, 1839, that one other name was 
added to the above list of teachers — that of James Allen Brown, 
the father of Justice J. Hay Brown, of this city. He came 
from the lower end of the county, and after a creditable exam- 
ination by the superintending committee, was employed under 
Gad Day in the high school. Entering upon his professional 
duties in his eighteenth year, he remained in the Lancasterian 
school building until the latter part of 1840, when he resigned 
to enter Pennsylvania College, from which he graduated in 
1842. Before entering the ministry of the Lutheran church 
he taught for a short time at Darlington, Md. For many 
years he was an influential and active member of the ministry, 
receiving the degree of D.D. and LL.D. His last years were 
devoted to literary and ministerial duties. Born in Drumore 
township in 182 1, he died in Lancaster June 19, 1882. 

The First Secretary of the board was John K. Findlay, 
" soldier, and judge magistrate." His connection with the 
schools of Lancaster dates with his election at the town meet- 
ing in June, 1838. As the record-book clearly shows, he kept 
an accurate and finely written journal of the proceedings from 
the time of his election until February sixth, 1839. It appears 
he served without compensation ; for, on August twenty-second, 
1838, Messrs. Hager, Humes and Jungerich were appointed a 
committee " to inquire whether the I'oard have authority to 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 71 

compensate the secretary for his services." On August twenty- 
ninth, Mr. Hager, reported that " they had made some progress 
in the discharge of their duties hut were not ready to make a 
full report." The chances are, this committee had not yet 
learned the " art of discovery," in which, at the present day, a 
law may be found to meet almost any subject involving in- 
creased expenditures. 

On March sixth, 1839, we find the following minute: "To 
the Board of Directors of the common schools of the city of 
Lancaster : Having recently had honor to be elected president 
of common council of the city, which makes me cx-officio mem- 
ber of the board, I beg leave to tender my resignation to a seat 
I hold as one of the directors elected by the people, and the 
office of secretary of the board. 

" Very respectfully your servant, 

" J. K. FiNDLAY." 

On motion, the resignation of Mr. Findlay as a director was 
accepted and his resignation as secretary refused. ( )n the 
third day of April following Mr. Findlay again tendered his 
resignation as secretary, which was accepted. 

The reader may be somewdiat puzzled to understand how 
Mr. Findlay's resignation as director was accepted and his 
resignation as secretary was refused. It may seem like a para- 
dox to those who entered the board after the year 1868; but as 
the reader becomes more familiar wdth events to follow, he will 
the better comprehend seemingly strange contradictions in the 
various enactments. It has only too frecjuently been said that 
a favorable opinion can be had on any of the school acts of the 
state, to suit various conflicting opinions. 

John K. Findlay, whose likeness embellishes these pages, 
was born in Mercersburg, Franklin county, May twelfth, 1803. 
and was a near relative of Hon. William Findlay, the fourth 
Governor of Pennsylvania. He was educated at the West Point 
Military Academy, graduated in 1824, and was commissioned 



72 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

a second lieutenant of artillery, but in 1828 he resigned his 
commission and commenced the study of the law. He was 
admitted to the bar at Harrisburg in 1831. Soon afterwards 
he moved to Lancaster, where he successfully practiced his 
profession for many years. On the sixth of May, 1841, he was 
commissioned by the Governor of the state, recorder of the 
Mayor's court of this city, said court at the time being a court 
of record. His commission ran only to the end of the next 
session of the state senate; but on the fifteenth of February, 
1842, he was recommissioned for ten years. He served only 
three years of his term, when he resigned to accept the appoint- 
ment of judge of the district court of the city and county of 
Philadelphia. He was also elected and served as judge of the 
Third District court of common pleas of Lehigh and North- 
ampton counties from 1857 to 1861. 

As judge it is said, he was impartial and incorruptible, and 
so independent a lawyer that " he wouldn't walk across the 
street to secure a case." As a man, he was handsome, with 
fine face and head, and very dignified in carriage. In addition, 
he was the best drilled and the best looking officer that ever 
commanded a company of volunteers, and that " The Fen- 
cibles " was the best company that ever paraded the streets of 
Lancaster or contended for military honors abroad. In sup- 
port of this statement, a brief reference to a trip the Lancaster 
Fencibles made to the city of Baltimore in May, 1842, may be 
mentioned. It was there that the Captain and his well-drilled 
company won first honor, in the shape of a handsome flag 
seven feet long and five feet wide, made of rich silk, the stripes 
of the National emblem having been adopted. On the body 
of the flag is a life-size figure of Captain Findlay facing his 
company. This memento hangs in the rooms of Post 84 on 
North Queen street, where it may still be seen in a good state 
of preservation, after sixty-two years of wear and tear. 

It would be nnich more desirable to have known George 



GEORGE MUSSER. 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 73 

Musser, the First Treasurer of the Lancaster School Board, 
than to be compelled to gather the history of his life from the 
musty records of other days. Here was a man — tanner, sol- 
dier, magistrate, politician, church trustee — whose features, 
herein reproduced, will be recalled by the very few who yet 
linger on the hither brink of time. 

George Musser held the office of treasurer from June, 1838, 
until May, 1843. After resigning the treasurership, he re- 
mained a member of the board until 1845. His salary during 
the five years he held the ofiice, was never more than seventy- 
five dollars per annum — a compensation calculated to reduce to 
the minimum the number of candidates for said office at the 
present day. 

The subject of this sketch was born July rr, 1777, in this 
city, and died May 26, 1868, aged nearly ninety-one years. 
It may be here stated as somewhat of a coincidence that his 
daughter, Miss Christie IMusser was elected a teacher on the 
tenth of August, 1838, and from time promoted until she 
became principal of the Girls' High School, holding said posi- 
tion until the year 1868, the year her father died, when she 
voluntarily declined a reelection. For nearly sixty-seven years, 
certain members of the Musser family have been actively en- 
gaged in teaching in the common schools of this city. 

The Second Secretary of the Lancaster School Board was 
John W. Forney. He held the position for two years, resign- 
ing in 1845. As the minutes show, he was restless under 
clerical bondage, frequently entrusting the recording of his 
minutes to another. In many respects, Mr. Forney was a re- 
markable man. In 1837, when twenty years of age he became 
associated with the Intelligencer. In 1842, he was appointed 
by Governor Porter prothonotary of the county, to fill a vacancy 
caused by the death of Zephania M'Lenegan, his commission 
running from January, 1842, to November of the same year. 
Of his long political career a volume might be written. As 



74 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

founder of the Philadelphia Prcss^ how vividly does the writer 
recall his brilliant articles, written from Washington during 
the Rebellion under the nomdeplume of " Occasional." He 
was an indulgent husband and father, a dutiful son and an 
affectionate brother. 

The Second Treasurer, following so close upon the first, was 
Louis C. Jungerich. His first responsil)lc duty as a member 
of the board was to ascertain the number of rooms that could 
be obtained to accommodate those who could not be domiciled 
in the Lancasterian building, which seemed to have been over- 
crowded from the day of its opening under the newer order of 
procedure. ]\Ir. Jungerich continued to serve on important 
committees until the resignation of Mr. Musser in 1843, ^s 
treasurer, when he was elected his successor. Reelected in 
1844, ^le served until 1845. 

On June 9, 1844, he presented the report of the Committee 
on Music, recommending its introduction in all the schools. It 
was laid over until the September following, when it was re- 
ported back in this somewhat changed form : 

" Resolved, That as many of the scholars as feel free to do 
so, be permitted to contribute one cent for each lesson (one 
of the big round cents, no doubt) of one hour each in music, 
and that Mr. Layman be recjuested to proceed with his instruc- 
tion in all the schools for the space of three months, and that 
the Board be not responsible for his remuneration." 

Having succeeded in laying the foundation for a regular sys- 
tem of music in the schools, under conditions no music teacher 
would be likely to accept at the present day, Mr. Jungerich 
next introduced a resolution for a fifteen minutes' recess, some- 
thing previously unknown in our city schools. The substance 
of this measure is as follows : "In bad weather the recess 
should be in-doors ; there should be a cessation of studies, and 
pupils should be allowed to leave their seats, and the ventila- 
tion of the room attended to ; that in clear weather, the teachers 




LOUIS C. JUNGERICH. 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 75 

should be on the phi_\grouii(l among the scholars to watch over 
and direct their plays and healthful recreation ; and that the 
teachers should be held amenable to the board for any disor- 
derly conduct on the part of the scholars caused by the teacher's 
neglect of duty." 

The result of Mr. Jungerich's efforts, after many meetings, 
was a compromise in favor of a " morning and afternoon recess 
for the primary scholars, the arrangement to continue until 
April, 1845 ' the experiment after that to be continued, amended, 
or abandoned at the pleasure of the board." 

Too much stress cannot be laid on the enforcement of a rule 
of this kind. It needs not the force of reason or argument to 
convince both teacher and director that, of all places, the play- 
ground is where habits are formed. Conduct during recess, 
where the rules of discipline are relaxed, should differ in no 
way from that within the school room. Free in a measure 
from the restraints of the teacher's presence, the playground 
is oftentimes the fruitful source of youthful depravity. It 
was so in the olden time ; it may be so today ; human nature is 
the same as in days gone by. 

" Uncle Louie " Jungerich, as he was oftentimes called by 
those who knew him best, was born in Prussia in 1807. 
Coming to Lancaster when a young man, he saved his earn- 
ings, until eventually he purchased the property now numbered 
127 and 129 North Queen street, tore down the old building, 
erecting thereon a structure, in which he carried on the candy 
business until 1865, when he removed to Philadelphia to en- 
gage in the banking business. His daily warning to the boys 
was, " Save your pennies and the dollars will take care of 
themselves " — a precept that is observed rather in the breech 
than in the observance at the present time. Being of the 
Swedenborg faith, he was one of five who, in 1836, purchased a 
lot of ground on East Vine street, and built a temple of worship 
thereon, subsequently deeding the property to the New Church 



76 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Society. Practically a self-made man, before he reached middle 
life he was well versed in both the German and English litera- 
ture. The furtherance of education and the diffusion of 
knowledge, especially the knowledge he believed in, seemed to 
be his life-long hobby. He died in Philadelphia in 1885, a 
firm believer in the New Church doctrine, leaving behind a 
name of which posterity may well be proud. 

The author can close this chapter in no more appropriate 
way than by reference to a project, inaugurated during 1838, 
entitled, " The Lancaster Conservatory of Arts and Sciences 
and City Lyceum." The opening address, by the Rev. C. Fr. 
Cruse, with the members' names of the Society to follow, will 
no doubt recall many an old residentcr to such as memory 
carries back to those early days of three-fourths of a century 
ago. The " Appeal " to the public is as follows : 

" In presenting the within address, the Board of Managers 
thought it expedient to accompany it with a special appeal. 
Sensible of the feebleness of their efforts, they feel the neces- 
sity of soliciting the community to aid them in so great and 
important an undertaking. Their object is the cultivation and 
dissemination of every form of useful knowledge, the forma- 
tion of moral and intellectual reform. And they would ask, 
does not our vicinity peculiarly require reforming? And have 
we not within ourselves that which, if properly cultivated and 
developed, would elevate us to an equal standing with our sister 
counties? Shall we fold our arms in indift'erence when the 
great spirit of Inductive Philosophy is abroad upon the earth, 
proclaiming the blessed invitation ' knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you ? ' Let it not be said, without truth, that 
Lancaster county is the ' garden of America.' In wealth, in 
soil, in agriculture, unquestionably she is. Put where are the 
proud scions of science, of literature, of Philosophy, of all the 
nobler and intellectual pursuits ? Are they growing in this 
Paradise of Nature and distilling dew-drops from Heaven for 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 77 

those who thirst after knowledge? or rather are they suffering 
for want of proper eulture? Should this he so? Shall the 
seed now sown he suffered to fall upon the ' way-side, u])on 
stony places, among thorns?" or rather shall they fall ui)on 
'good ground, and hring forth fruit?" The menihers, neither 
in their individual or associate capacity anticipate to themselves, 
exclusively the henefits of their association. The very nature 
of their organization is such that the good they accumulate is 
equally the property of all. Every individual, then, is inter- 
ested in the advancement of this institution, and should assist 
it in the elevating our county to a higher point in the scale of 
moral, intellectual and physical sciences. There are none who 
cannot contriljute in some way. Our treasury, our lihrary, 
our cabinets, our Lecture table are all in want, and always open 
to donors and contributors ; and we cannot think that this ap- 
peal to the liberality, the philanthropy and the intelligence of 
our citizens will be made in vain. In science, as in charity, 
' it is more blessed to give than to receive,' and the benevolent 
mind wdll have cause to rejoice that the ' talent,' bestowed 
toward our support, will \ield a hundred fold in the reform of 

societv. ,, -r „ ri ■ , 

James Demant, President. 

"Washington L. Atlee, J'icc-Prcsidciit. 

" Ely Parry, Treasurer. 

" GeoR(;e C. Hawthorn, Reeordiiig Seeretary. 

" Samuel C. Humes, Librarian. 

" George B. Kerfoot, 

" J. G. Fetter, Curators." 

To the fourteen articles of by-laws, were signed the names 
of the following members, representing as they do, the intelli- 
gence of tne thrifty community of sixty-eight years ago, namely, 
James Damant, Geo. C. Hawthorn, A. A. IMarcelus, Carpenter 
M'Cleary, C. Henry Mayer, Peter jM'Conomy, George 15. Ker- 
foot, J. N. Lightner, Eli Parry, William Jenkins, Washington 



78 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

L. Atlee, Samuel C. Humes, H. E. Muhlenberg, William W. 
Dale, Henry E. Leman, Benjamin Champneys, G. M. Merz, 
George W. Reidenbach, John L. Atlee, J. J. Van Antwerp, 
Louis C. Jungerich, William J. Berry, John Yeates, Stbner C. 
Kauffman, E. Jeffres, George Diller, Jr., Charles Bouchter, A. 
N. Breneman, Henry Pinkerton, Daniel Rhoads, John W. Jack- 
son, John F. Long, Esther Barton, Adeline Brackin, Christiana 
C. Musser, Ann E. Fetter, Anna Helfenstein, Mary Henderson, 
Emeline Reigart, Susan Musser, M. E. Musser, L. L. Bull, A. 
F. Davis, Elizabeth Michael, Susan Ann Hoff, Sarah E. Musser, 
Lucy E. Washington, Eliza Kerfoot, C. Marcelus, Sarah Mar- 
celus, Margaret Yeats, Catharine Yeates, Josephine Boyd, Susan 
B Mayer, Caroline Demuth, Ann M. Hurst, Mary E. Ross, Ann 
M. Dale, H. D. Steinman, Louisa Mathiot, Catharine Mathiot, 
Susan E. Carpenter, Maria L. Carpenter, Caroline M. Baker, 
Cecelia Ober, William Kennedy, Geo. B. Markley, Samuel 
Parke, E. Shaeffer, J. H. Bryson, George M. Steinman, W. B. 
Reed, Jacob Weaver, Wm. F. Bryan, Jno. Lawrence Thomp- 
son, A. M. Cassidy, David A. Donnelly, Robert W. Burrowes, 
David Longenecker, John A. Keller, S. Bowman, Henry B. 
Markley, James L. Houston, Adam Diller, A. W. Russel, C. 
Kieffer, R. Moderwell, John Baer, John P. Myer, Henry Car- 
penter, Daniel Lagan, Adam M. Lightner, Junius B. Kauffman, 
Christian Bachman, William Burns, Peter G. Eberman, J. K. 
Findlay, James B. Lane, A. Varian, C. F. Cruse, Henry 
Swentzel, George Roat, John Pierce, Thomas Yarrell, Abr. 
Breneman, Jr., Abr. Breneman, Sr., Ann M. Foltz, Harriet 
Gealbaugh, Ann E. Frazer, Sarah A. Michael, Catharine E. 
Reidenbach, Margaretta S. Ihling, Mary Eicholtz, Jane Evans, 
Henrietta Hofifmeier, Elizabeth Bachman, Margaret Hoff, 
Mary Frazer, Mary C. Steinman, Susan S. Steinman, Elizabeth 
S. Bryan, Sarah Y. Conyngham, Amelia Paulick, Ann Hopkins, 
Elizabeth R. Franklin, Mary W^olf, Rebecca Carpenter, Cath- 
arine Carpenter, Ellen Voigt, Catharine Voigt, Ann Burg, Eliz- 



LANCASTER ACCEPTS. 79 

abctli Ihling, Elizabetli White, Catharine Helfenstein, M. C. 
]\rax\vell, Ellen Henderson; honorary members — William H. 
Johnson, Buekingham, I lucks county; Benjamin Malone, M.D., 
Bucking-ham, Bucks county; Joseph S. Rich, M.D., Doyles- 
town ; Robley Dunglinson, M.D., Philadelphia ; N. Dodge, Chi- 
quis; Josiah Holbrook, David B. Prince, York; M. Durbin, 
Carlisle; Jacob Green, M.D., Philadelphia. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 

Launching of the New Educational Ship of State — Report of John 
F. Steinman against continuance of the Monitorial System — Moral and 
Religious Precepts — " Billy " Butler, a Typical Old-Time Pedagogue- 
Reminiscences of the Old School on the " Hill." 

The year 1838 was, indeed, a most inauspicious epoch in 
which to launch the new educational ship of state, following so 
close upon the panic of 1837, in which banks were compelled 
to suspend in many of the larger cities. In addition, the cry of 
"hard times" was heard on every hand ; trade of all kinds came 
to a standstill ; men were thrown out of employment, while dis- 
trust and want of confidence prevailed through the country. 
A weaker set of directors might have given up in despair — gone 
down with the financial crash, which had already carried scores 
to ruin. Of course, the proceedings of the Lancaster School 
Board did not move with the rapidity of a twentieth-century 
Legislature, in which every school measure that comes floating 
down from New England's rocky shores is enacted into a law. 
But this was no doubt owing to the fact that the system had 
not as yet gathered sufficient momentum to carry it over minor 
obstacles. 

The school question is still the absorbing topic of the town ; 
and the tax-collector avoided in many instances as the disturber 
of conditions, not to be viewed with complacency by an already 
overburdened constituency. The historical stitdent who has 
kept himself in touch with the finances of the country during 
the thirties, will bear witness to the conditions which prevailed 
here and elsewhere during those eventful years. 

However, after a dozen meetings had been held, that of Au- 
gust 10 proved to be one of absorbing interest. It being the 

80 



MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 81 

thirteenth consecutive meeting, and, no doubt, to many the " un- 
lucky " one, it was looked forward to with misgivings by the 
advocates of the system that was to go into operation a month 
later. At this meeting it was to be determined whether the 
Lancasterian system of teaching was to be continued indefi- 
nitely, modified or entirely eliminated ; and, if discarded, what 
course of instruction was to take its place. 

In order to fullv understand the conditions relating to the 
school question which prevailed at this time, let us imagine for 
a moment the state of the public mind, were it suddenly an- 
nounced before the opening of the September term that the 
present system of teaching in our schools would be supple- 
mented by one with whose merits no director or teacher was in 
any way familiar. 

Back of the board appointed by the Court were the sixteen 
teachers, with Professor Gad Day at their head, all ready to 
sustain, by persuasion on the one hand and the force of argu- 
ment on the other, the monitorial system that now stood trem- 
bling in the balance. ()n the other side, avowedly opposed to 
its continuance, were the twelve directors elected by the people, 
with the balance of power resting with the ex-officio member, 
the president of common councils, should his vote be necessary 
to determine the issue. If the cjuestion, soon to absorb the 
reader's attention, had arisen thirty years later, in 1868, under 
the pressure of the political excitement which followed the 
passage of the new school charter for this city, the result might 
have been disastrous. Happily, during those early times, the 
political factor was absent from the school board's deliberations. 

It was at this meeting that the committee of which John F. 
Steinman was chairman, and which had been instructed to 
report a plan for the discarding or modifying the former system 
of instruction, made their report. It is somewhat difficult to 
determine from the minutes of the board, Mr. Day's methods 
of teaching under the Lancasterian system. Enough has been 



82 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

given in a previous chapter, to lead to the conckision, that there 
was neither system nor classification in his various schemes. 
From a report made by Chairman Atlee, at a later meeting, the 
inference is drawn, that too much dependence was placed on the 
young and inexperienced beginners, designated " monitors." 
All classes of pupils were no doubt pursuing their studies in one 
and the same room under the charge of the principal teacher, 
and such of the more advanced scholars as were best fitted to 
instruct others. 

Chairman Steinman's report reads : " That they have given 
the subject serious consideration, and the attention its im- 
portance demands. On the score of economy and where the 
main object is to educate a large number of children at the 
least possible expense, the committee do not doubt that the 
Lancasterian system has the advantage over every other. But 
where thorough and complete instruction is sought for, they 
are constrained to think that other and more successful meth- 
ods may be found. And, believing as they do, that the board 
will consider qualify rather than the cheapness of the schools 
they are about to establish, the committee do not hesitate to 
recommend the abandonment of a system which they are con- 
strained to believe incurably defective and superficial. 

" In expressing this opinion the committee take occasion en- 
tirely to disclaim any intention to censure the management of 
the Lancasterian schools of this city. It is not to the manage- 
ment of the system but the system itself that they object to and 
which, they are now persuaded, must everywhere and in all 
hands fail. 

" It is not necessary to go minutely into the facts and reason- 
ing which have brought the committee to this conclusion. This 
much, however, they will say — that, in addition to their own 
observations and reflections, the conclusion which they have 
reached is sustained by the judgment of those who have had 
large and personal acquaintance with the actual working of the 



MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 83 

Lancclsterian system. And also by the remarkable fact that in 
Philadelphia, where the system was once exclusively in use, it 
has at length been very generally abandoned. 

" Your committee, therefore, unanimously concur in recom- 
mending- that the present Lancasterian system be modified in 
accordance with the following resolution : 

"Resolved, That the Prince and Chestnut street school house 
be used as a primary school, with one male principal and three 
assistants in each room — one male and two females in the boys' 
and three females in the girls' department. 

" Having thus discharged the immediate duty assigned them, 
the committee beg leave to add that, in recommending the fore- 
going resolution, they go upon the supposition that the schools 
about to be established in other parts of the town will be exclu- 
sively for instruction in the higher branches of an English edu- 
cation; and that every child will be recjuired to pass through 
the primary department before being admitted into the higher 
grade." The report, being promptly adopted, it was " resolved, 
that the Common School System be put into operation on the 
first Monday in September following." 

Thus it has been that, while the time for closing the schools 
in the summer has undergone change, the first ]\Ionday in Sep- 
tember has ever been, with an occasional exception, the one 
day in the year on which our boys and girls have received the 
warning note that vacation days are over. To all it is a day 
long anticipated, opening a brighter future — not, however, 
without its trials and disappointments. What a contrast be- 
tween the closing and the opening of the school term ! When 
vacation days begin, the school room is deserted by both pupil 
and teacher, forgetful for the time being of all its endearing 
associations. Ah, but mark the change, as with buoyant health 
restored, they each in turn reenter the deserted school room, 
there cheerfully to accept the duties of the coming year. 

The number of directors and teachers may easilv be com- 



84 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

puted ; but who can estimate the great army of school children 
that has passed to and from our many school bnilding-s during 
the last three quarters of a century ? That all have not measured 
up to that high standard, which many are prone to imagine they 
are by nature ordained to reach, is only too true. But it is well 
to remember that after all the school is but one among the 
many avenues through which the average boy or girl is com- 
pelled to attain knowledge. 

There are three developing influences in a child's life — the 
home, the school, and last, though not least, the street. How 
many of our boys and girls, in this school of uncensured vice 
and immorality, undo in a few years all the moral training the 
school has given them is plainly evident to those who have kept 
in touch with court proceedings. And wiio, it may be asked, 
is directly responsible for the existence of these " schools of 
the street ? " The police force ? Certainly not. The public 
schools? Decidedly, no! Ring the door bell of this or that 
home, and as the call is answered, you will meet a kindly-dis- 
posed, over-indulgent father or mother, on whose shoulders 
the responsibility nuist rest. The real home, then, is the 
nursery in which nuist be implanted the seed of virtue and 
integrity of character, leaving the teacher to cultivate it by 
such means as are at her disposal. 

Leaving this somewhat difficult subject to the thoughtful 
parent, it may not be without interest to the reader to glance 
over the report of the committee of which the Rev. Samuel 
Bowman was chairman — appointed to receive and examine 
teachers, under the new arrangements in the curriculum of 
studies. It reads as follows : " That in the discharge of their 
duties, they have examined a large number of applications, and 
have considered them with all the care and impartiality they 
are capable of, and are now prepared to lay before the board 
a list of those whom they would recommend for election. 
Aware that they may have erred in their choice, the committee 



MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 85 

will at all times lay before the members a list of all applicants 
in order that an opportunity may be afiforded to alter or amend 
the choice of the committee. In making their selection, the 
committee observed some rules which seem to them obviously 
just. They consider that our own citizens, if equally qualified, 
were to be preferred to strangers ; that those already engaged 
in teaching should be taken before those who were not ; and 
that those who have had experience in the Art should be pre- 
ferred before those who are without it ; and that very little 
reliance is to be placed upon credentials furnished by the vari- 
ous candidates, for they may be true or not. Too often it is 
evident that the latter are carelessly written and on insufficient 
grounds. The committee, therefore, beg leave earnestly but 
respectfully to recommend that in making contracts the right 
shall be distinctly reserved wdienever it shall be thought best, 
to make further investigation into the moral qualifications of 
any candidate, and that if the result of such inquiry should not 
be satisfactory, the election shall be null and void." 

The report of the committee having been adopted, the board 
proceeded to the election, resulting in the appointment of the 
sixteen teachers whose names and salaries arc given in a pre- 
ceding chapter. 

The resignations of Adam Reigart and John R. Montgomery 
having been accepted at a previous meeting, Christian Kieffer 
and Alexander L. Hayes were elected to the vacancies ; and the 
latter appointed to draw a contract between the board and its 
corps of teachers. 

To impress certain moral and religious precepts upon the 
minds and hearts of the children, cards were ordered to be 
suspended on the walls of the difi^erent rooms, on which were 
inscril)e(l in large letters, the Lord's Prayer, the Apostle's 
Creed and the Ten Commandments. Cards of similar size were 
distributed among the scholars, containing short selections of 
prose and poetry to be committed to memory. It will be ob- 



86 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

served later that while the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Com- 
mandments had been a part of the Lancasterian system of 
instruction, and recognized as highly essential to moral and 
religious training, they were a few years later to become the 
center of the warmest discussion. 

Among the old-time customs prevailing under the former 
system, but which, under the new, were soon after abolished, 
was recjuiring children to appear on certain occasions, in uni- 
form typical of the purpose for which they were called together. 

In this connection, an amusing incident is related by one who 
during his early youth marched over to the Prince street build- 
ing from the school then directly south of Trinity Lutheran 
church, bedecked with tokens appropriate to the occasion. The 
master who had charge of this school, as the story runs, was 
the then well-known William F. Butler, but generally spoken 
of as " Billy " Butler — a typical old-time pedagogue. Li his 
younger days, he had unfortunately been deprived of one of 
his pedal extremities, necessitating his recourse to a wooden 
limb of the home-made kind- — the era of the " patent cork pro- 
pelling " kind having not as yet come in vogue. The afore- 
mentioned limb was less noted for its elegance and symmetrical 
proportions than for its strength, but it was used to good pur- 
pose in both defensive and offensive warfare. No sentinel was 
required to keep guard during Billy's absence while the boys 
were having a good time in the school room on the second floor ; 
the thumping of the schoolmaster's wooden leg as he ascended 
the stair was all-sufficient to warn the young imps that the end 
of their merrymaking had come. 

On a certain occasion it was proposed by the lads to test the 
enduring qualities, not only of their pedagogic friend, but of his 
wooden leg as well. It was, therefore, agreed that as Billy 
descended the stair late one afternoon, one of the more cour- 
ageous was to. intercept his downward course by lying length- 
wise on one of the upper steps, concealed from the old gentle- 
man's vision, which was not the most reliable at that hour. 



MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 87 

All having been satisfactorily arranged, a half dozen of the 
more peacefnlly disposed crowded William's rear, sending- him 
to the landing below. Unfortunately, in his numerous sum- 
mersaults, his wooden leg in some way Ijecame detached, land- 
ing in the street some distance away. 

Gathering up his personal property and readjusting it as best 
he could, he made no effort to hurry oft' in search of the chair- 
man of the superintending committee ; but returning to his post 
of duty the morning following, he settled with the waggish 
lads according to the severe code of that day. It is reasonable 
to presume that the superintending committee, on the other 
hand, if advised of this little episode, would never have dreamed 
of summoning a meeting of the board to " investigate " such 
an everyday occurrence. It was one of the trivial offences, the 
settlement of wliich was left to these old schoolmasters, to be 
adjusted in their own way and in their own good time. 

And it is safe to sav that William on this particular occasion 
never thought of resorting to " moral suasion." He had a 
more salutary mode of redress — through the efficacy of the 
shillalah, which, as it fell with unerring aim and unabated vigor 
upon the backs of the offenders, assured them that though too 
late to apply the ounce of prevention, the " pound " of cure 
was still in order. 

From another source and quite as reliable, comes the story 
of how Billy r>utler managed to lose his leg. " It happened in 
this way, if the old schoolmaster's stories are to be relied on," 
we are told by another who is recalling his own early experi- 
ences in this school. 

" ' When a young man fresh from the University of Dublin,' 
the old man related, between lessons. ' I ran away from home, 
embarking on a sailing vessel bound for the Indian ocean. We 
hadn't gone far beyond the temperate waters of the Atlantic, 
when my left limb was caught in the loop of a hawser, snapping 
it off' above the knee like a pipe stem. The sailor boys, how- 



88 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

(f 
ever, on my recovery, soon worked out a wooden one from a 

dismantled jib-pole; and after wrapping it with several layers 
of raw-hide, to protect it from the rays of a tropical sun, at- 
tached it to the end of that portion of the upper limb still re- 
maining. 

" ' All things went well for a time, until I fell into a fever, 
which reduced me almost to a skeleton. The only part of me 
not showing the effects of the fever was my protected wooden 
leg. But the worst befel us when we were shipwrecked on 
one of the Fcjee islands, inhabited by a tribe of man-eaters, 
who soon made short work of the Irish Captain, sailors and 
the few stranded passengers. 

" ' One by one, as I recall,' continued Billy, in his inimitable 
way, as the boys gathered round him with intense curiosity, 
' the others were " done up "' in true cannibal style. At last, 
being the only one left, I began to congratulate myself that, 
owing to my emaciated condition I was to escape the horrible 
fate meted out to the others. 

" ' Having by this time learned a little of their language, I 
told them as best I could that I was in no condition to be 
served up ; that in poor me there would be nothing to make 
merry over ; that having only recently gone through a malig- 
nant form of fever, as my appearance indicated, a further 
delay might result in making me more palatable. This seemed 
to appease their hunger at least for a time, with the under- 
standing that I should receive the best the island afforded ; and 
which, I must confess, improved my physical condition, in 
spite of my efforts to avoid it. 

" ' Another month passed, when one fine morning I was 
summoned into their midst with the sword of Damocles hang- 
ing over my head. Recalling my former condition, I begged 
for a stay of execution, arguing that I was still in no fit con- 
dition to be made a sacrifice to their benighted customs. To 
make my argument all the more convincing, I further reminded 



MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 89 

them of the effects of the fever, and how, in time, if I was 
partaken of in the usual way, the whole island might become 
depopulated. As a last extremity, I agreed to hand the head 
conspirator of the gang a good-size slice of Poor Me, with the 
understanding that if it proved as palatable as had the young 
Irish Captain I would bow submissively to the inevitable. To 
this, after another powwow, they reluctantly consented. 

Asking to be permitted to seek the seclusion of the island, 
where I might alone offer up a prayer for my many sins of 
omission and commission, I sliced oft" a goodlv portion of one 
of my limbs, and handing it to the head chief, shortly after, 
asked him to taste it, and then pass it round among his hungry 
tribe. 

From one to another it went the rounds, each showing his 
disgust with a shake of the head. At last, as good luck would 
have it, the old chief turned to me and said in language which 
I have since translated into English, " You are the worst speci- 
men of Caucasian I have ever undertaken to masticate." 

x-Xnd now, my lads,' he'd add, as he resumed explaining a 
knotty problem in the double rule of three, ' as long as I re- 
mained on the island, and until rescued by a passing merchant 
vessel, I always managed to keep my wooden leg securely 
hidden within the inner lining of my trousers. Yes, boys,' 
giving his pedal extremity a peculiar twist, to make sure it 
was still in the right place, ' it was the thickness of that raw- 
hide that did the business.' " 

Aside from this story, wdiich no one is expected to believe, 
we would recall that in those primitive times wdien the rod was 
the law, as handed down from the time of Solomon, and a good 
story w^as a soothing balm, a lad returning home showing the 
welts of severity upon him, was either given a similar course 
of treatment, or dismissed with the admonition, that a little 
more of the same kind of medicine was quite as wholesome for 
the physical nature as a dose of calomel jalap from the town 



90 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

doctor for a sick headache or other infirmity superinduced by 
over-work on the playground of the school, perhaps. 

But why dilate longer on the " professional secrets " of these 
old-time schoolmasters, many of whom, with all their short- 
comings, were in their day not to be disdained. They had 
their failings, of course. All men have. But beneath their 
rugged exterior there was a warmth of heart, and a mellowness 
at times, which won the love and devotion of their pupils. 
Possibly a little more of the old schoolmaster's sternness of 
character and discipline might not be amiss for the lad of today 
who allows kind words to pass into one ear and out the other, 
before he has crossed the threshold of the schoolroom. " Kind 
words kindly spoken," is the touchstone of our modern school- 
room philosophy. It is all very well in a way ; and yet, too 
much soothing syrup, even as a home remedy, isn't at all times 
conducive to health, strength and a vigorous manhood. In 
favor of the rod for all the pranks of a boy's nature? De- 
cidedly, no ! Occasionally ? Yes ; but never administered 
under the impulse of passion, revenge, or as an everyday diet. 
However, it is time to bring this chapter to a close, as I am 
drawing dangerously near the rapids. 

At the same time, too, I am reminded that there are yet hun- 
dreds of the author's former school boys ready to conjure up 
all kinds of schoolroom episodes, told and retold by them until 
they verily l)elieve they have some foundation in fact. But 
after all, what a fine lot of boys were they who attended the 
South Duke Street Grammar School from sixty-five to sixty- 
eight ! Bo}s then ; middle-aged men now. Many have passed 
over the river of time : those who remain are drifting home- 
ward, and soon they too will follow in the wake of their com- 
panions. We meet them occasionally on the streets of the city, 
but no longer the smooth-faced, curly-haired lads of days gone 
by. Since the commencement of this volume, a number of 
letters have reached the author, from the boys who attended 



MONITORIAL SYSTEM ABANDONED. 91 

school on the " Hill," during the middle sixties — sweet re- 
minders of happier moments. And yet, withal, if time has 
brought in its train one compensatitMi for the years spent in the 
South Duke street school room, it is the gratification gleaned 
from a pleasant smile, or a tip of the hat from one and all, 
who, while they may still recall a tap on the hand or a whack 
on the back, manifest only the kindlest feeling for their school- 
master of forty years ago. 

There is still one other side of the picture to be drawn, as I 
sit with the sun low-descending through a cluster of green 
foliage, on this lovely autumn evening: few, indeed, of the 
" Hill " boys have I ever seen go wrong. On the contrary, 
out of the hundreds who have entered upon the busy drama of 
life, not a few fill exalted positions of trust and responsibility, 
the great majority having grown in wisdom and character — 
the result of the school and of good home training. 

Does it pay to become a teacher? For the moral uplift, yes. 
But in dollars and cents, no ! There is, however, a compensa- 
tion ; it may not come early in life, but come it surely will, in 
the reflection of having added one's mite to the sum of human 
achievement ; in being able to feel that he or she has accom- 
plished something, however small, in the education of the rising 
generation. Let the average teacher, then, not grow weary of 
his or her years of labor ; for in the quietude of the home circle 
or far beyond your reach, your name may be mentioned by 
some school urchin of years before in a way you may never 
have thought possible. It is characteristic of boys as it is of 
girls to speak well of their teachers. Indeed, nothing is more 
gratifying than to sit and listen to the stories of men and 
women as memory carries them back to their school days. It 
is said that distance lends enchantment to a view ; it surely adds 
the gentle note of forgiveness and affection to a boy's life in 
after years when, forgetful of the wrongs he may have suf- 
fered, he recalls only the bright moments of his school days. 



92 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

So, farewell, my lads of other days, and may your declining 
years be as peaceful and happy as the days of your youth in 
the Hill school. 

The Hill school ! What fond recollections of other days 
cluster around it, for one, who, fifty years or more ago, as a 
lad in his teens, sat upon the improvised benches, learning his 
A B C"s ; then, a score of years later, a teacher in this same 
school ! Ah, the young teacher had the best of it then ; but 
the boys, men now, can discount the " old man " ten to one, 
as he occasionally meets them in the vigor of their middle-aged 
manhood, clustered together in little groups, the absolute own- 
ers of the world in which they move and have their being. 
Then, for the Hill boys, we can only say, go it while you can, 
but go it slow; yet, forget not to store up for the years to 
come a few sparks of vitality, that may serve you when you 
reach your three score years and ten. 



CHAPTER VII. 

RULES AND REGULATIONS. 

First Day's Opening — President Samuel F. Dale's Announcement — 
Prof. Gad Day and his Corps of Instructors — Rev. J. T. Marshall Davie 
Reports on Rules and Regulations — Text Books and Course of Study^ 
Committee in Search of Suitable School Buildings — The Millerite 
Scare of 1844. 

In the closing" part of the previous chapter, in which the 
atithor indtilged himself in a few personal reminiscences, he 
naturally drifted somewhat from the trend of his story. So 
that now after looking" at the early struggle through the eyes 
of the prominent men who figured in its development, it is 
necessary, in order to complete the historical picture, to look 
upon these early days through the keyhole of events and 
records of the people at large. 

It is Monday, the third of September 1838; a thousand hand 
bills scattered through the town point the way to the school 
building at the corner of Prince and Chestnut, where Professor 
Gad Day and his corps of instructors stand ready to welcome 
the young and happy hearts as they enter upon their first day's 
duties. Arm in arm, the distinguished body of directors press 
forward to witness the opening exercises of this the first day's 
session of the schools of Lancaster under the free school system. 

No sound of the motorman's gong is heard to disturb the 
motley crowd gathered around the old court house, engaged in 
discussing the ftiture possibilities the newer order of events 
has brought in its train. " Truly," says one deeply impressed 
with the importance of the occasion, " the old order changeth, 
yielding place to the new, and God fulfils himself in many 
ways." Others, thinking only of " increased taxation," shake 
their heads in a pessimistic way, wondering what is to become 
10 93 



94 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

of the old town, anyway, with more education already than can 
even be utilized to advantage. " But we must be moving," 
says another of a more optimistic turn, " for the hour of the 
exercises to begin has already arrived." 

Passing up North Queen street with its numerous one-story 
buildings, they reach the rickety " station," into which comes 
puffing the advance guard of a newer civilization — one of the 
first locomotives to pass through the town, scarcely larger than 
a steam road-roller of the present day. In these respective 
types, the steam engine on the one hand and the new school 
system on the other, we behold the two most powerful agencies 
the world has ever known — destined in the years to come to 
revolutionize the habits, customs and traditions of this staid 
old town, making it really a " Greater Lancaster." 

Reaching the sul^stantial brick structure, possibly the largest 
and handsomest in the city, the crowds gradually wind in. In 
a circle sit the twenty-five directors, deeply impressed with the 
solemnity of the occasion. A moment later all eyes are cen- 
tered on the speaker, President Dale, as he rises in his place 
to recount the success which has thus far marked the entry of 
the system into the old shire town. And as old and young 
bend their heads forward, intent on catching every word, the 
glorious news falls upon their ears, that over seven Jumdred 
children had already applied for admission — more than double 
the number under the former system during the previous year. 

It is late in the evening, the low-descending sun has already 
taken itself to rest over the hill, on which a little more than a 
decade thereafter was to stand Franklin and Marshall College, 
when the last of the afternoon exercises draws to a close. As 
young and old pass on their way homeward bound, no gas nor 
electric light illumine the path over which the nuiltitude is mov- 
ing. In imagination we follow the throng. We look in vain 
for the evening paper containing an account of the proceedings. 
No messenger-boy is on hand to carry the news on his bicycle ; 



RULES AND REGULATIONS. 95 

no aut()iiu)l)ile to conve\- the worthy president to his unpreten- 
tious home; no troHey-ear to take the crowd to Rocky Springs, 
no " Lady Gay " to ply the waters of the historic Conestoga ; 
no Hoiue for Friendless Chikh'en ; no Young Mens' or Young 
Womens' Christian Association ; no Lancaster County His- 
torical Society; no Clio or Iris Cluh ; no Patriotic Daughters 
of the Revolution ; no Board of Health ; no Soldiers' Monu- 
ment in Penn Square ; no Woolworth Roof Garden ; no Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ; no Road Drivers' 
Roadway Association ; no Henry G. Long Asylum or Park ; 
no x'Xnti-Expectorating ordinance ; no Government Post Office 
building; no handsome market houses or beautiful church edi- 
fices, with the exception of " Old Trinity," and no advocates 
for a Greater Lancaster. Ah, no ; for this is Lancaster of " ye 
olden time,"' with a population scarcely equalling the number 
of voters seventy years later. 

Dear reader, this is but a pen picture of the days of slow 
industrial development, when the men who held the destiny of 
the town in the hollow of their hands sat basking in the sun- 
shine of contentment in front of their stores by day, or, while 
the watchman called out the hours by night, dreamed perhaps 
of the awful havoc a bursted water pipe was to create, flooding 
the town as it surely would when the pumps at the water sta- 
tion were properly set in motion. 

But with all our twentieth-century conveniences then un- 
known, there were other compensating blessings surrounding 
the peaceful inhabitants of Lancaster, which the forty-odd 
thousand of our present-day population can little appreciate. 
Lancaster, of all the cities of the Commonwealth, was a literary 
center of the first magnitude at the time of which we write, 
and later. Here, and in the country embraced within the 
jurisdiction of the county was born, or resided, General Hand, 
the friend and companion of Washington ; General Henry 
Miller, of Revolutionary fame; Col. Samuel Atlee ; General 



96 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Andrew Porter ; George Ross ; William Barton, who designed 
the great seal of the LTnited States ; John Beck, the great 
teacher ; Judge Jasj^er Yeates ; Edwin Shippen ; David Ramsey, 
the historian; Alexander Lowrey; Thomas Wharton; Lindley 
Murray, the grammarian ; Robert Fulton, the inventor, and 
others of no less note. 

Numerous and historic are the incidents which happened in 
the old town of Lancaster, during and prior to Revolutionary 
times. In 1777 Congress sat for a brief time in the old court 
house, and from December, 1779, till 1812 Lancaster was the 
capital of the state. During the changeful, exciting days of 
the Revolution, besides General Washington, many distin- 
guished American and British officers were in the borough of 
Lancaster. All of which bears testimony to the greatness of 
this inland town in days gone by. As may be further said, 
those were the days when an education was sought for its in- 
trinsic value, and the pleasure afforded in its pursuit ; while 
now, for its practical " business success," in assuming position 
in an " age of commercialism," where the almighty dollar is 
too constantly the first consideration of old and young. 

The system had been in operation not quite two weeks, when 
at a special meeting of the board, the Rev. Mr. Davie, from 
the committee on books, rules and regulations for the govern- 
ment of the schools (all in operation within the Lancasterian 
building) made the following report, which was adopted : 

"Primary Dc[>avtuiciit — The children in these schools shall 
be divided into two grades, and instructed as follows : First 
Grade — Alphabet-cards, Emerson's Primer, Butler's Grada- 
tions. Emerson's Second-Class Reader and Testament. Second 
Grade — Writing, Spelling, Reading, Sewing, Arithmetic, par- 
ticularly the Tables, the Elements of Geography : Books to be 
used — Emerson's Spelling Book, Emerson's Fourth Class 
Reader, Emerson's Arithmetic, Parley's Geography and Testa- 
ment. 



RULES AND REGULATIONS. 97 

"Secondary Dcparfiiiciit. — A knowledge of the branches 
tanght in the Primary Department is indispensable for admis- 
sion into the Secondary Department. Scholars in this Depart- 
ment shall be instructed in Spelling, Reading, Writing, Gram- 
mar, Geography, connected with Maps; Arithmetic, History 
and the use of Globes : Books to be used in this grade — Cobb's 
and Walker's Spellers, Emerson's Higher Class Reader, Smith's 
Grammar, Emerson's Second Arithmetic, Onley's Geography, 
Frost's History of the United States, History of Pennsylvania, 
Testament or Bible. 

" Upper Room — Higher Departuient — The scholars in this 
Department shall be instructed in Defining, Reading, Writing, 
Grammar, with Exegetical exercises; Geography, History, Arith- 
metic, Algebra, Composition, Rhetoric, Map-drawing and the 
use of the Globes, Elements of Natural Philosophy, the Bible. 
In addition to the above, the boys in this Department shall be 
instructed in Book-keeping, Declamation, Mensuration, Blair's 
Trigonometry, with application to surveying. Books to be 
used — Cobb's and Walker's Spellers, Murray's Grammar, 
Emerson's Third Arithmetic, Worcester's Geography, Col- 
burn's Algebra, Titler's History, Blair's Rhetoric, Gummer's 
Surveying, Conversation on Natural Philosophy. A knowl- 
edge of the branches taught in the lower room of this Depart- 
ment," concludes the report, " is indespensable for admission 
into the upper room." 

The curriculum of studies, with the names of the books to 
be used at the opening of the schools of September, 1838, is no 
doubt sufficient to startle those who, during recent years, have 
labored under the mistaken idea that the men who established 
our local system of schools were unalterably opposed to higlrer 
education. Possibly no more radical departure from the old 
system to the new has since taken place in the history of the 
Lancaster schools. Out of chaos came a sys'temafic course of 
instruction. It was a revolution ratTier than an evolution — a 



98 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

little " top-heavy," yet, withal, it establishes the fact that the 
end and aim of our early directorship was to carry the average 
boy and girl from the lowest primary to the highest grade com- 
mensurate with their ability to master the various subjects of 
the school curriculum. 

The course of study having been agreed upon, with still 
others of a higher order to follow in due course of time, Mr. 
Davie presented the following " General Rules and Regula- 
tions " for the common schools of this city : 

'' First, The instructors in all the schools under the care of 
this Board, shall be elected by a majority of members on the 
First Wednesday in July of each year. The teachers elected 
shall enter upon their respective duties on the First Monday 
in September following. The preferment of instructors shall 
be predicated only on their literary and moral merit and prac- 
tical skill. 

"Second, As all the instructors derive their authority from 
this Board, they shall be equally respected and obeyed by the 
pupils. The principal teachers being more immediately re- 
sponsible for the good order and improvement of the schools, 
shall hold priority of rank ; and their directions, in relation to 
the general course of instruction and all the other internal 
regulations of the schools, shall be followed by the assistant 
teachers. In case of unfaithfulness in- office, representation in 
writing signed by the complainant, shall be handed to the 
President of this Board to be laid before it at the next meeting. 

" Thiyd, The teachers shall not at any time (unless from un- 
avoidable circumstances) absent themselves during school 
hours without permission from some one of the visiting com- 
mittee. 

"Fourth, The instructors shall be punctual in their attend- 
ance at the hours appointed for the opening of the schools, and 
shall require like punctuality from the scholars. Strict regard 
shall be paid to the hours for dismissing the schools, and no 



RULES AND REGULATIONS. 99 

scholar shall be allowed to depart before the same, except at 
the request of a parent or guardian expressed in writing or in 
cases authorized l)y the Uoard. During school hours instruc- 
tors shall faith full\- devote themselves to the business of in- 
struction. 

"Fifth, The time of opening the schools shall be at 9 o'clock 
and close at 5 'clock in the aftern(3on. 

" Sixth, The instructors shall keep a book in which they shall 
note the conduct, application, improvement and general char- 
acter and habits of each of the scholars, so as to enable the 
committee of the Board at their visitations to form an adequate 
idea of the state of the schools. 

" Seventh, If the conduct of any child be such as to render it 
necessary that it should be separated from the school, the 
teacher shall immediately give notice of the same in writing 
to the parent or guardian of the child and the visiting, com- 
mittee, and said child shall be excluded from the school. If 
the parent is dissatisfied, an appeal may be had to the Board. 

" Eighth, It shall be the duty of the teachers to prevent as 
far as possible any abuse or waste of the public property (such 
as cutting of desks, defacing the walls, etc.) respectively com- 
mitted to their charge. And in case of loss or injury being 
done, they are required to give immediate information to the 
visiting committee. 

" Ninth, It shall be the duty of instructors to maintain a good 
understanding among themselves. Should any differences 
arise, it must be immediately submitted to the visiting com- 
mittee, for their decision (a right of appeal to the Board in all 
cases being reserved). And as the Board considers harmony 
of purpose and friendly feeling amongst the teachers as indis- 
pensable to progress, improvement and moral culture of the 
pupils, no instructor will be retained in the service of the Board, 
who shall manifest a disposition averse to such social and 
friendly intercourse with the other teachers as the duties of 
the schools may require. 

L.ofC. 



100 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" Tenth, Three months' notice in writing shall be given by 
either party (before the expiration of the time for which he 
has been elected) the Board of directors or teachers, to discon- 
tinue their relation as instructors of common schools : except 
when a teacher shall intentionally violate any of the regulations 
of this Board, whereupon he shall be dismissed from office." 

In addition to the foregoing general rules and regulations, 
the following "Rules of the Schools" were ordered to be 
placed in each school : 

"First, The schools shall be opened in the morning of each 
day with reading a portion of the Scriptures and dismissing by 
singing if found practicable. 

"Second, No scholar shall be placed on the roll of any school 
until a ticket of admission is delivered to the teacher by order 
of the visiting committee; but a teacher may permit a scholar 
to attend school until t^^e next meeting of the committee, but 
not after without a ticket. "When the name of the scholar is 
enrolled, it shall be the understanding that the said pupil is to 
remain connected with the school for at least three months; 
and not be unnecessarily detained by parents or guardian. 

" Third, Whenever it is ascertained that the regular attend- 
ance of any scholar shall interfere with the plan of instruction 
or retard the progress of his or her class, although the ab- 
sences may not bring the pupil within the provisions of the 
fourth article, the teacher shall inform the parent or guardian 
of such scholar that unless a change takes place he will be put 
into a lower class and, if persevered in after such notice, the 
teacher shall recommend to the visiting committee his or her 
transfer to a lower grade. 

"Fourth, If a scholar shall be absent from any of the schools 
without permission of the Board for two weeks out of four, 
except in cases of sickness, it shall be the duty of the teacher to 
notify the parent or guardian of the fact and report the same 
to the visiting committee, who shall erase the name of such 



RULES AND REGULATIONS. 101 

pupil from the roll of the school and report the case to the 
l'>oard at the next meeting. Such pupil cannot be admitted 
into the school except on application being made anew and he 
or she submitting to an examination. 

"Fifth, No transfer shall be made of scholars from one 
school to another except at the clos.- of each session — at which 
time there shall be an examination of .ill the schools. 

" Sixth, It shall be the duty of scholars to cultivate kindness 
and sincerity toward each other, reverence for the institutions 
of our Country, love of social order and obedience to the laws 
of our Commonwealth, regard for the name of God, abhorrence 
of idleness and profaneness, of falsehood, inhumanity and in- 
temperance. 

" Scz'Ciith, There shall be a vacation commencing on Christ- 
mas day and ending on the second day of January ; another 
commencing on the last Monday in July and ending on the 
last Monday in August ; also on the 4th of July and on Wash- 
ington's Birthday. There shall be no exercises in any of the 
schools on the afternoon of Saturday or on Friday preceding 
the Easter Sabbath. 

"Eighth, The schools shall be visited at least once in two 
weeks, by committees from this Board whose duty it shall be 
to report in writing at the next meeting of the Board. 

"Ninth, That when parents of children are represented to be 
too poor to furnish books, the parents shall satisfy the visiting 
committee of that fact before they are furnished books l)y this 
Board." 

While many of the foregoing rules and regulations are in 
some respects unique in their phraseology, they covered the 
ground at least for a time ; and although revised and enlarged 
many times over during the past three fourths of a century, 
they remain substantially the same at the present day. 

With these minor obstacles removed and the system moving 
in its onward course with some degree of regularity, it need 



102 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

not be inferred that no further difficulties were to be en- 
countered. Scarcely a month had rolled by after the opening 
of the schools when the board was confronted by obstacles of a 
most perplexing nature. The number of children had increased 
so rapidly in the Prince and Chestnut street building as to 
make the securing of additional rooms a prime necessity. As 
the treasury was empty, the only alternative to a refusal to 
accept additional pupils was the resort to another " town meet- 
ing." The law, however, for the levying and collecting of 
taxes, even under a favorable vote of the people, was crude 
and difficult to understand. All the available real estate, if 
such it may be called, was the Lancasterian building, valued by 
the board at about five thousand dollars. This soon became 
the bone of contention. Effort after effort was made to dis- 
pose of it, the purpose being to utilize the proceeds in the erec- 
tion of less pretentious buildings. Funds being at the time 
scarce, and as the city stood in sore need of more school-houses, 
this plan appealed with force to the thrifty community ; for, as 
has heretofore been said, the state appropriation did not reach 
the school board's treasury until two year's later. 

The records show that before the first school year had ter- 
minated the property committee was sent out in search of suit- 
able quarters in the four sections of the city, only to report that 
their labors had met with little encouragement, property-holders 
being averse to the location of school-houses in their immediate 
neighborhood. The price of eligible sites also took an upward 
tendency — a lesson property-holders have since learned to ap- 
preciate in the disposal of their own holdings. 

If, during the first years, the board was economically dis- 
posed, preferring as necessity required to rent the school-house 
of the Moravian congregation, the room of the German Re- 
formed church, the Episcopal school room, the Presbyterian Ses- 
sion house, the room of the Lutheran congregation, and others, 
the time at last came when the erection of a series of school 



RULES AND REGULATIONS. 103 

buildings adapted to the growing wants of the city became a 
prime necessity. In view of this fact, plans and specifications 
were prepared, no donljt, under the direction of Thomas H. Bur- 
rowes ; and in 1841 a lot of ground at the corner of Duke and 
German was purchased from V. B. Palmer for $1,050. Here, 
the same year, three double houses were erected, by Joshua W. 
Jack, at a cost of $3,914. To cover the loss in contracting, a 
bill for extras was sent to the Property Committee, and by 
them submitted to the board, to be promptly tabled. These 
were the first public school-houses ever built in the city of 
Lancaster. Three years later, in 1844, two additional houses 
of the same style of architecture were built on the same plot. 
To pay for these and others in contemplation, a petition was 
presented to the Legislature for an act authorizing the P>oard 
to borrow $6,000. 

Following the construction of these five Duke street build- 
ings, two houses were built on Mulberry near Orange at a total 
cost of $2,109. Li 1846 the board purchased from Josiah 
Shufilebottom a lot of ground in the West ward for $450, on 
which a double house was built, at a cost of $2,571. The year 
following another house was erected on the same plot, costing 
$1,605. During 1848 a lot on West Vine street was purchased 
from Miss Yeates for $300, on which two double houses were 
built at a cost of $3,027. In 185 1 two building lots, one on 
Sherman, near East Orange, the other on West Chestnut, were 
purchased for $550 and $445, respectively, on which four 
houses were built in 1852, at a total cost of $4,198. Again in 
the same year two double buildings were erected at the corner 
of Lime and Lemon for $3,274. Later in the year another 
house was built on West Chestnut at a cost of $1,136. 

It will thus be seen, more as a matter of historical reference 
than from any special interest to the rising generation, who 
can scarcely recall these " old-timers " even from the engraving 
herein represented, that from 1841 to 1855 seventeen of these 



104 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

one-story structures were erected, costing something over 
$25,000. Of these temples of learning, with their white co- 
lonial columns, not a single one remains to tell the story of the 
trials and difficulties with which the directors had to contend. 

Though no one has regretted their replacement by others of 
more commodious and artistic style, can they fairly be desig- 
nated " cattle sheds? " Well, indeed, did they serve their pur- 
pose, sending from within their walls the men who have erected 
in their place the modern buildings which now beautify the 
streets of our city. 

" Do you recognize from the photograph the old school 
buildings that once upon a time stood at the corner of Duke 
and German ? " I asked an elderly gentleman in one of my 
strolls in search of anything of interest relating to these former 
buildings. 

"Do I recall them? Yes, indeed; but what is more to the 
point, I was employed in the erection of the two nearest Ger- 
man ; and was sent to Columbia to purchase the wooden col- 
umns that are so plainly visible in the picture. But this is the 
least interesting part of what I have to relate, if you are not too 
much in a hurry. 

" It was along in the year 1844, if I remember, and during 
the time of the Millerite scare that certain things happened 
that created more commotion in the old town than had ever 
occurred before or since. You see," he went on, glancing up 
at the flag perched on the stafif of the Woolworth building, 
" for months before the last two houses were started, a good 
many of the believers in William Miller, ' the Prophet,' were 
opposed to their erection, declaring that the school board was 
simply throwing away the taxpayers' money ; that as the world 
was coming to an end, anyway, on a certain day, there wouldn't 
be any children left to occupy them. Yes, and bless you," he 
went on, with a twinkle of the eye, " one of the firm believers 
in the Millerite faith was a prominent member of the Lancaster 
School Board. 



RULES AND REGULATIONS. 105 

"As the day approached for the ascension," he resumed, 
leaning- first on one foot, then on the other, " this misguided 
old gentlemen had the white robes for himself and family al- 
ready prepared. From an elevated platform in his back yard, 
free from the overhanging shrubbery he had arranged to take 
his flight on hearing the first peal of Gabriel's trumpet that 
was to call the ' faithful ' to take a last farewell of all their 
earthly possessions. 

"Yes, you may well smile at the absurdity of the episode; 
but notwithstanding, the faith manifested by not a few of our 
older citizens in the coming dissolution of all things terrestrial 
had taken such a firm hold upon their distorted minds as to 
preclude all possibility of doubt. Argument, persuasion, ridi- 
cule — all these were of no avail. Men, and even women, met 
together in secluded nooks to discuss the style of their gar- 
ments, the safest place to deposit their " all in all." in case of a 
mistake in the date set for the upward journey, the relative 
distance they might have to travel, the actual time required in 
the ascent, and whether they were to be met by St. Peter with 
a smile or a frown, in addition to such other matters of a 
spiritual nature as were to redound to their everlasting hap- 
piness. 

" As I further recall," he went on, leaning against one of the 
electric light poles to maintain his equilibrium, " T was working 
on the roof of the end house of the Duke street row, late in the 
afternoon of the day of the contemplated ascension, driving a 
nail in a shingle here and there, when lo ! the heavens suddenly 
became over-clouded ; a pall hung over the entire city, shutting- 
out every vestige of sunlight. Everywhere Egyptian darkness 
prevailed. Soon the shingles began to fly; then one after an- 
other the rafters followed, caught up by a gust of wind, almost 
convincing me that they too had been among the specially 
ordained for the upward journey, but landing, as we later dis- 
covered, in the open space where the caramel factory now 
stands." 



106 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" And you missed the golden opportunity to join the celestial 
throng, your presence would seem to indicate ? " came my part- 
ing salute, with a tip of the hat, as he held the pole with a 
firmer grip to prevent his utter collapse. 

'* One word more, my old friend," came his exclamation, 
grasping my arm ; " the main facts as I have given them are 
substantially correct ; and I have only to add that, as I crawled 
out of the wreck, I imagined myself a Lancaster city millionaire, 
resting under the firm belief that I was the only living being 
left in the old town. I was not long in learning, however, as 
I reached the court house in Center Square that all the county 
officials as well as the Court and members of the bar were still 
doing business at the old stand. What eventually became of 
the white robes and other paraphernalia has never been defi- 
nitely ascertained. This much, however, I can say, that the 
two school-houses were finished according to contract ; and in 
them in after years the boys and girls were taught the folly of 
such superstitions." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WAYS AND MEANS. 

Report of the Committee of Ways and Means — John Mathiot, the 
Third President — Robert Moderwell, the Fourth President — John Zim- 
merman, the Third Secretary — An Episode in his Life — Peter 
M'Conomy, the Third Treasurer — Death of Andrew Jackson — George 
M. Steinman, the Fifth President — The Know-Notliing Party. 

The system had been in operation not quite two years when 
the year 1840 opened ; and as the condition of the board's 
finances is to be set forth at the beginning' of each incoming 
decade, it may be well to note the amount of available revenue 
at their disposal on the first of May of this year. The popula- 
tion of the city as nearly as can be computed was something 
less than eight thousand. 

It was at the May meeting of 1840 that the Committee of 
Ways and Means of which A. L. Hayes was chairman, made 
the following report : 

" The committee appointed by the Board of Directors to in- 
quire into the ways and means of supporting the common 
schools of the city of Lancaster for the ensuing year, now 
report, that the district composed of the city, received from the 
state, incltiding tindrawn balances of former years, six thoti- 
sand five hundred and forty-four dollars and eighty-three cents 
($6,544.83). And the tax authorized to be levied, being 
$3,251.25, which it is believed, after all delinquencies and the 
collector's percentage — amounting probably to $500 — are de- 
ducted, will leave $2,751.25, making the receipts $9,296.08. Of 
this item three thousand dollars have been invested in the city 
loan at an interest of 6 per cent. The expenses of the coming 
year, commencing on the first of June are estimated according 
to the present establishment, as follows : Salaries of teachers, 

107 



108 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

$5,125.00; additional compensation for tuition, $100.00; rent, 
$345.00; fuel, taking care of school rooms, cleaning them, 
making fires and other incidental expenses, $630.00, or a total 
of $6,200.00. Besides compensation for the services of the 
Secretary and Treasurer, the amount of which, under the act 
of Assembly has not been fixed — leaves the ordinary means of 
defraying these expenses as follows : State Appropriation — one 
dollar for each taxable inhabitant of the city — the number of 
such being 1767 — will be $1,767.00; the authorized maximum 
of tax $2,751.25 ; interest on loan invested, one year six months, 
$270.00; balance in hands of treasurer, $334.88, or a total in- 
come of, $5,123.13. Deducting this from $6,200.00, exhibits 
a deficit of $1,076.87. 

" It will be perceived that the committee have excluded from 
their calculation the three thousand dollars invested in city loan, 
introducing only the accruing interest. This they have done, 
because they think it expedient that the said sum should be 
reserved and set apart for the purpose of erecting school build- 
ings for the common schools, as soon as it may be practicable 
and can be done with advantage. The deficiency of the or- 
dinary means is more than a thousand dollars, without in- 
cluding in the amount of expenses the Secretary's and Treas- 
urer's salaries ; and the committee submit to the Board of 
Directors the propriety and expediency of calling a meeting of 
the taxable inhabitants of the city to decide by ballot whether 
an additional sum shall not be assessed and collected for the 
purpose of supplying that deficiency. The personal property 
in Lancaster liable to be taxed according to the act of March 
25, 1 83 1, was not touched by the school tax of the present year, 
from the want of an assessment. It amounts to $837,316.00, 
and bears a proportion of more than eight to sixteen, or one 
half of the real estate assessed. To the mass of taxable inhab- 
itants the additional tax would bring no increase of burden ; 
on the contrary, as the taxable personal property will be called 



WAYS AND MEANS. 109 

in aid of the real, in the ensuing year, the burden on the latter 
will be diminished, even if additional tax should be authorized, 
which, on the former, which ought to have contributed to the 
present year, the ordinary and additional tax for the next year 
will be less by 50 per cent., than the amount of the ordinary 
tax alone would have been for the two years." 

On motion, it was resolved that "a town meeting- of the 
taxable inhal)itants of this district be called to decide by ballot 
whether an additional sum of $1,200 shall be raised for school 
purposes for the ensuing year." 

It is stated in the above report that the personal property for 
the year 1840 was $837,316.00, which bore a relation of more 
than eight to sixteen, or one half of the real estate assessed, 
which is presumjilive evidence that the real estate value for 
school purposes in this year was not less than $1,674,632.00. 
It will also be noticed as a matter of future reference that the 
large appropriation of $6,544.83, which fell into the treasury, 
was but the pro-rata share of accumulations to which Lancaster 
city was entitled from the Commonwealth as a residt of its 
acceptance of the provisions of the act of 1834 and 1836. It 
was a long time in coming, Init when it came in a lumj) sum 
to replenish a famishing treasury, it was like a ray of sunshine 
to the school board's drooping spirits. In placing $3,000 of 
the above amount at interest to be used later in the building of 
school houses, the committee's recommendation, concurretl in 
by the board, was in strict compliance with the spirit if not the 
letter of the law, as set forth in the Governor's suggestions 
to the Legislature. 

Few of the directors of that early day could realize that 
fully forty years were to roll by before another appropriation 
of equal amount was to fall into the hands of the school board's 
treasury. If, for many years thereafter the amount received 
from the commonwealth bore no relation to the first appropria- 
tion of something over $6,000, there were men in the school 
11 



110 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

board like Robert Morris of Revolutionary fame, wbo stood 
ever ready to render such financial assistance as the depleted 
treasury at time demanded. Among these none were more lib- 
erally disposed than were George Musser, Louis Jungerich and 
Peter M'Conomy, whose purse-strings were ever open when 
the ready cash was wanting to pay the teachers and to provide 
for any other deficiency at the close of each month. It is well 
that the reader should not be forgetful of the fact that the con- 
ditions through which we are now passing are altogether dif- 
ferent from what wc shall find them a third of a century hence. 
Instead of the school board of this city receiving less than two 
thousand from the state for the support of its schools, as it 
received in this year, 1840, the amount, sixty years hence, or in 
1900, will have reached nearly $30,000. And yet, to the credit 
of the Lancaster School Board be it said, that through evil and 
good repute, there never has been a time since the system was 
first adopted in this city that the teachers have failed to receive 
their regular monthly salary. To gO' a-borrowing for a few 
hundred dollars can scarcely be appreciated by those who have 
lately assumed the duty of director. 

As stated in a previous chapter, Samuel F. Dale was the 
second President of the Lancaster School Board. Strictly 
speaking, he was the first presiding officer, for Adam Reigart, 
the first to be chosen, declined the honor, owing to advancing 
years. " Judge Dale," as he was familiarly known, served in 
this capacity until May 10, 1839. We must now turn to his 
successor, John Mathiot, who became the Third President of 
the board, holding said office until the time of his death, Jan- 
uary 28, 1843. 

This distinguished citizen, whose pleasing countenance may 
be seen among many others, was born in this city in 1786. 
In the year 181 8, when Lancaster assumed the dignity of 
a municipality, he was elected sheriff of Lancaster county. 
After his term of ofifice expired he opened a " scrivener's office." 




JOHN MATHIOT. 



WAYS AND MEANS. Ill 

Later he was elected alderman, serving- in said position until 
183 1, when he was elected mayor by city councils, being elected 
annually for eleven years. It may be said that of the twenty- 
two chief magistrates of our city, from 1818 to the present 
time, ten were members of the school board at different times. 
A still greater percentage of the presidents of select and com- 
mon councils served in a similar capacity. The cause for this 
will appear as my story continues. 

Having entered the board in 1838, John Mathiot was one of 
its most energetic workers ; and when he finished his earthly 
pilgrimage, a special meeting was called January 23, 1843, to 
make arrangements for his funeral. It was at this meeting 
that the versatile secretary, John W. Forney, proposed the fol- 
lowing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 

" Rcsoli'cd, That the members of this Board have heard 
with unfeigned regret of the death of John Mathiot, esq., 
mayor of the city, and president of this board ; and that we 
consider the loss of such a man, so esteemed for his virtues and 
so valuable for his public spirit and official integrity, a public 
calamity. 

"Resolved, That we sincerely condole with the afflicted 
family of the deceased in this dispensation of Divine Provi- 
dence. 

" Resok'ed, That we will wear the usual badge of mourning 
on the left arm for thirty days." 

(A custom observed by the members of the board up to the 
breaking out of the war.) 

It was this same brilliant writer, then editor of the Iiifelli- 
geneer, who wrote an obituary through the editorial columns, 
in which, after paying a high tribute to the memory of the 
deceased, were printed the resolutions of respect adopted by 
city councils, the school board and by the Lancaster bar. This 
latter meeting was presided over by Hon. A. L. Hayes and the 
resolutions of condolence passed were framed by William Jen- 



112 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

kins, John R. Montgomery, Reah Frazer, George Ford and 
S. Humes Porter. 

Mr. Mathiot's funeral took place January 24, 1843, and was 
largely attended by the city and county officials, the bench and 
the bar, the clergy and the beneficiary societies generally. It is 
well that the memory of such a man as John Mathiot should 
not be entirel}" forgotten — one of the manv who left their im- 
press deep and lasting on the tablets of our school and city 
government. 

Leaving the life of John Alathiot as an example worthy of 
imitation by the rising generation, whose eyes may, perchance, 
fall upon these pages during some quiet moment, their attention 
is now directed to his successor, Robert Moderwell who fol- 
lowed as the Fourth President of the schopl board of this city. 

Mr. Moderwell made his first appearance in the board in 
1 84 1, at which time he became ex-officio member by virtue of 
being president of select council. On October 12, 1842, he 
was chosen president pro-tcin. of the board (in place of Presi- 
dent Mathiot, who was still in ill-health), which position he 
continued to hold until January 22, 1843, when he was made 
permanent chairman. This office he held for three years, until 
May 19. 1846. 

Many improvements were made in the schools during Mr. 
Moderwell "s incumbency in office. It was the first era of 
school-house building and much tinic and close attention were 
required, as the records clearly show. The Female High 
school, which had been in the IMechanics' Institute on South 
Queen street, was removed to the middle building near the 
corner of Duke and German. Not a few of our older citizens 
will recall the octagonally-shaped " summer house " which for 
some years stood in the center of the large play-ground in 
the rear of these old-timers. The lot when first purchased for 
school purposes was an extensive one, reaching westward from 
Duke to Christian, and northward from German to Washing- 




ROBERT MODERWELL. 



WAYS AND MEANS. 113 

ton street. During later years a portion of it was disposed of 
for $i,ooo, $800 of wliich was used in the purehase of the 
Presbyterian Session house, at the corner of Cherry and Grant. 
Around this old stone structure, long since removed, hang many 
fond memories, which may he awakened before my story draws 
to a close. Sad as it may seem, it was only the day before his 
sudden and unexpected ending of a bus\- life, that our old 
school-boy friend, the late Jacob Halbach, sat with the writer 
in his office, recalling many a little episode of his earlier school- 
boy days in this prison-like building. 

On the second of July, 1843. ^^^e board adopted the first cor- 
porate seal, of the usual pattern and about one and one-half 
inches in diameter. In order that there might be no dispute 
over its authenticity, the following resolution was ofifered by 
John F. Steinnian, and adopted : 

" Rcsoh'cd, 'Jdiat the seal procured by the secretary, be 
adopted by this Hoard; the said seal having the following 
around its margin, to wit: ' Seal of the Directors of Common 
Schools of the City of Lancaster ' ; and in the center, the front 
representation of the middle school house, and part of the two 
adjoining ones on either side." 

That this resolution was carried out, an impression of said 
seal on a page of the first minute book, as well as on numerous 
legal documents, clearly indicates. 

It was during f-iobert JModerwell's term of office that the 
colored school became the cause of much anxietv, the greatest 
difficulty being experienced in keeping it open. The sudden 
falling-ofl: in the number of its pupils, while the white schools 
were overcrowded, is difficult to account for, when it is con- 
sidered that at the September meeting of 1838 one Henry 
James sent a petition to the board, setting forth " that there 
were fifty-eight colored children ready to attend school as soon 
as suitable quarters were made for their accommodation." 
Without knowing the exact number of colored children en- 



114 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

rolled at the present day, it is evident their number has not 
materially increased during the past sixty-seven years. 

At the meeting of January ii, 1844, President Moderwell 
made his first animal report to the board, which is herein repro- 
duced, showing as it does, the school board's financial status 
at the time it was presented : 

" A warrant for the collection of school tax for the year 1845 
amounting to $6,030.50, has been delivered to William Lowry 
the collector, who has given his bond for $12,000, with David 
A. Donnelly and David Nauman as securities. 

" Louis C. Jungerich has given his bond for $15,000, with 
F. J. Kramph and B. F. Sturgis as securities for the faithful 
performance of his office as treasurer, both of which bonds are 
herewith handed over to the board. 

" A certificate of the assessment of the school tax for 1845 
has this day been forwarded by mail to Charles M'Clure Super- 
intendent of the common schools, Harrisburg, together with 
the report of the directors, for the school year ending on the 
first Monday in Jwnc 1844, which is as follows: 

" Whole number of schools 2t, — one colored. Average num- 
ber of months taught, eleven ; number of male teachers, six ; 
number of female teachers, seventeen. Average salaries of 
males per month, $31.59 ; of females per month, $15.54. Num- 
ber of male scholars, 731 ; number of female scholars, 698; total 
of both sexes, 1,429. Average number of scholars in each 
school, 62. Cost of teaching scholars per month, 42 cents, 
calculating from the total expenditure of the schools. 

Receipts. 

From State Appropriation $2,030.00 

" district tax and other sources 5,842.79 

Total receipts $7,872.79 




JOHN W. FORNEY. 



WAYS AND MEANS. 115 

EXPENDITVRES. 

Cost of instructiuii $4,791.62 

Fuel and contingencies 1,156.4,3 

Rent and repairs 1,53^.74 

$7,480.79 

Leaving an vnicxi)en(led balance of $ 392.00 

Signed, Ruuekt Mouerwell. 

INIr. Moderwell tendered his resignation as president on the 
eighteenth of April, 1845, bttt the memhers refused to accept it, 
wherettpon he was tinanimonsly reelected for another year. In 
Febrttary of the year following his term of ofiice expired as 
ex-officio member, and president of select cotnicil. 

Turning to the proceedings of the school board of 1841, we 
find a vacancy in the secretaryship, occasioned by the resigna- 
tion of John W. Forney, who, it will be recalled, was elected 
secretary May 10, 1839, ^^ the sttccessor of John K. Findlay. 
At this meeting, we find John Zimmerman elected as the Third 
Secretary. For a term of fifteen years Mr. Zimmerman held 
the ofiice, discharging his duties in a most creditable manner. 
As one of the early directors under the Lancasterian system, 
and later tnider the free school movement of 1838, he was not 
one of the court's appointees, but became a director by virtue 
of being president of select council. When he resigned the 
secretaryship in 1856 to accept the office of mayor, to which he 
had been elected, he tendered his resignation in the following 
comnumication : 

" Gciitlciiicii: called by my fellow citizens to serve them in 
a different capacity, which vacates the seat I now hold in yottr 
body — but which yet makes me c.v-oflicio a member — involves 
the necessity of my ceasing to act as your secretary. In tender- 
ing my resignation I beg leave to acknowledge your kindness 
and partiality in continuing me so long in that position. Having 
had the honor of being a member from the organization of the 
common schools in 1838, and successively elected ever since, I 



116 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

shall have much pleasure in my new position to meet and coop- 
erate with you as heretofore, and to assist as far as in my 
power toward the improvement and progress of the cause of 

education in our midst. 

" Very respectfully 

"John Zimmerman." 

The following- resolution was unanimously adopted : 

" Rcsoli'cd, That the resignation be accepted and entered on 
the minutes ; and that this Board congratulate him on his pro- 
motion ; and that we bear willing testimony to the faithfulness 
with which he has served them for so many years, and to the 
zeal and efficiency of his labors to the cause of common 
schools." 

To the few men yet living who knew John Zimmerman well 
and intimately during his connection with the schools of this 
city, the following sketch may serve to recall old-time remin- 
iscences. To those who knew hiiu not, the good honest face 
depicted in the accompanying engraving may serve to remind 
them that he was one of the men who gave their best energies 
to preserve and nourish the precarious life of a system born 
among deep and bitter prejudices. 

John Zimmerman was born March 22, 1789, in West Hemp- 
field township. He was a member of city councils when in 1837 
the Conestoga water (very muddy water, no doubt) was con- 
veyed through pipes into the very heart of the city, thus throw- 
ing out of use many of the " old town pumps," he was chairman 
of the water committee. In 1846 he was elected city treasurer, 
and reelected annually thereafter until he succeeded to the 
mayorality in 1856, serving in said capacity until 1857, when 
he was succeeded by Thomas H. Burrowes. 

It was during Governor Johnson's administration that a 
little episode occurred, in which, but for promptness of action 
on the part of Mr. Zimmerman, might have resulted in the loss 




JOHN ZIMMERMAN. 



WAYS AND MEANS. 117 

of a life's reputation. A list of defaulters was issued from 
the auditor general's office, among which, to the suri)rise of 
Mr. Zimmerman and his friends, was his name for $2,200 
state tax not accounted for. As soon as Mr. Zimmerman's 
eyes fell upon the notice, he hastened to Harrisburg with his 
vouchers, and not only convinced the auditor general that he 
was not a defaulter, but on the other hand, according to the 
auditor's own books, the state owed him $700. In reality, it 
owed him nothing — the mistake in both instances being the 
result of faulty book-keeping in the auditor general's office. 

From his early youth Mr. Zimmerman was passionately fond 
of flowers and took great delight in their cultivation. He is 
said to have been the only florist in Lancaster to successfully 
cultivate the camellia, a beautiful flowering evergreen shrub, a 
native of China and Japan. The writer can well recall his 
floral garden in the rear of his late pleasant home, 147 North 
Queen street. Plain and unassuming, of considerable culture, 
John Zimmerman, with cheery word and pleasant smile for all, 
ended his days among the trailing vines and blooming i^lants he 
had cared for so tenderly. 

Turning to the minutes of 1845, "^^'^ ^'i*^ that on May 13, a 
vacancy occurred in the office of treasurer, Louis C. Jungerich 
declining a reelection, whereupon Peter M'Conomy was elected 
by acclamation, as the Third Treasurer of the Lancaster School 
Board. 

Mr. M'Conomy was one (^f the twelve directors elected in 
1838, remaining a member until his death in January 1877. 
Thirty-nine years is his record of service, during thirty-four 
of which he held the office of treasurer, a longer period than 
can be claimed by any other member, either for membership or 
official duty. During the first six years he received an annual 
salary of $50.00; in 1851 it was increased to $75.00, and in 
1854 it was further increased to $125.00 — a sum that would 
hardly have justified him, if he had been there, in contributing 
12 



118 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

to the annual banquet, given only a few years ago to the board 
by the secretary and treasurer. 

Peter M'Conomy was born on East King street, near Ship- 
pen, on March 30, 1804. He received a fair education in one 
of the numerous private schools of that day. As a youth he 
was apprenticed to the shoemaking trade of his father, Neal 
M'Conomy. Of his long life as a respected merchant, and a 
man of strict integrity, his record as a school director speaks 
in clearest tones. 

One of the most notable events of this decade was the meet- 
ing of the board in extra session on June 23 of this year 1845, 
to pay tribute to the memory of General Andrew Jackson, late 
President of the United States. The resolution passed at this 
meeting and copied into the minute book, with deep black lines 
surrounding the margin, reads as follows : 

" Whereas, An invitation has been extended to the Board 
of Common Schools to unite with the other public authorities 
in the funeral services of General Andrew Jackson, and a desire 
to testify our sense of the loss the Nation has sustained in his 
death, we cordially accept the invitation to join in the funeral 
procession on Thursday next." 

The following account appeared in a newspaper of that day : 
" It was the most eventful occasion Lancaster has ever seen, all 
places of business being closed, with young and old joining 
the ranks of the marching columns. Everywhere were quoted 
those inspiring words, spoken by ' Old Hickory ' at a Jefifer- 
sonian dinner, ' Our Federal Union, it must be preserved.' " 

On February 17, 1846, George M. Steinman was elected to 
succeed Robert Moderwell, and became the Fifth President of 
the board. Mr. Moderwell, however, while out of the board 
for a time, was reelected in 1856, and served until his death 
in 1859. 

George M. Steinman was born on the eleventh of July 181 5, 
and died April 15, 1884. He was the son of the venerable 




PETER M'CONOMY. 




GEORGE M. STEINMAN. 



WAYS AND MEANS. 119 

John F. Steinnian, near whose pleasing features his may be 
seen on the accompanying pages. 

As the father always deserves mention before the son, a few 
words of a general character concerning John Frederick Stein- 
man may not be inappropriate at this point. For two years 
father and son sat side by side in the board, a coincidence that 
has had its counterpart in but two other instances — that of 
John L. Atlee and his son William Augustus, and Frederick 
Augustus and his son Dr. Henry E. Muhlenberg — elected from 
different wards, however. 

In more than one respect the elder Steinman was a man of 
many remarkable traits of character. On attaining his majority 
he succeeded to his father's business, which he developed to 
large proportions. The firm name has had its " standing " for 
more than a century. As a school director he was never known 
to shirk a duty. 

In 1842 Col. George M. Steinman entered the board, and 
in 1846 was elected president, holding his position continuously 
for nine years. This length of service has been exceeded by 
only one other presiding officer during a space of sixty-seven 
years. In addition to this, he was for eleven years a member 
of select council, and for eight years was its president. 

We are again anticipating when we tell of an event which 
occurred during Mr. Steinman's presidency that may be said 
to have marked the beginning of what during later }ears 
turned the Lancaster School Board into anything but a har- 
monious body of directors. " The American, or Know-Noth- 
ing party as they were called [we quote from the late J. M. 
Johnston's sketches written for the Infclligcnccr] organized a 
lodge in this city in 1854. Up to this time there had never 
been any party nominations for school directors, and the vote 
cast for the same seldom reached a hundred, but in the election 
held in May of this year, the Know-Xothings quietly went to 
the poles and cast nearly seven hundred votes, electing three 



120 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

of their number and defeating three of the regularly nominated 
candidates. The year following the democrats turned the 
tables on their enemies, defeating two of the three Know- 
Nothing nominees. The result of the first election was a sur- 
prise to the members of the board, into whose councils the 
political factor had never before entered. On the fifth of 
October following the election, Mr. Steinman tendered his 
resignation as president of the board, and as a member, as did 
also Alexander H. Hood and Thomas H. IJurrowes as members 
of said body. A committee, however, was appointed to induce 
them to reconsider their action, which they did at the next 
meeting. Mr. Steinman, while declining the presidency, served 
out his unexpired term, was reelected in 1856 and served until 
1862, when, after a continuous service of twenty years, he 
declined a reelection." 



CHAPTER IX. 

OWNERSHIP OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 

Ownership of the Laiicasterian Building — Excitement over the Lord's 
Prayer, the Apostle's Creed and the Ten Commandments — Early Infant 
Schools — The Bihle as a Text Book — Establishment of the Mechanics' 
Library — Old Mechanics' Hall — Industries of Old Lancaster. 

As considerable doitl^t has existed among members of the 
Lancaster School Hoard and others, as to the legal status of the 
Lancasterian bnilding, many believing its owners are the Ham- 
ilton heirs, others still adhering to the opinion that it is the 
property of the School District of this city, a few facts gath- 
ered from the school board's proceedings may throw some light 
upon the debated question. 

The first discussion over the ownership of this building 
occurred at the meeting of December 9, 1845, when a committee 
was appointed " to examine the title, confer with the County 
Commissioners with reference to the same, and to report the 
result of their investigation to the board at the followmg meet- 
ing." While there is no record of this committee's report, at 
the January meeting of 1846 ]\Ir. Burrowes read a petition and 
a draft of an act to the Legislature for the sale of the Lan- 
casterian school house and lot of ground. It was therefore, 

"" Resolved, That the board now proceed to sign a petition 
to the Legislature, granting the Commissioners of the county 
power to sell the Lancasterian school house and lot of ground, 
said petition not to be forwarded to the LegislattU'e, unless a 
clause be inserted in the proposed law, empowering this board 
to fix the minimum price at which such property shall be dis- 
posed of." On motion it was further, 

" Resolved, That the messenger be requested to procure the 
signatures of the absent members to the petition." 

121 



122 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

At the March meeting of this year it was 

" Resolved, That the Finance committee confer with the com- 
missioners in relation to the law recently passed by the Legisla- 
ture authorizing the sale of the public school house in the 
West ward ; that they ascertain the relative advantages result- 
ing from said sale and the erection of a new building, and re- 
port either at the next stated meeting or sooner if they see it 
expedient." 

At the April meeting following it was 

'' Resolved, That Messrs. Steinman, Zahm and Gillespie be a 
committee to fix the minimum price at which the North West- 
ern school house shall be sold, and inform the County Com- 
missioners thereof." 

On motion it was 

" Resolved, That the same committee be authorized in case 
of the sale of the North West school house, to select a suitable 
site for the erection of a new school house and report the 
price of the same, with the probable cost of erecting said build- 
ing, at the next stated meeting of the IJoard." 

At the meeting of December, 1846, the Rev. Mr. Bowman 
presented the report of the Superintending Committee in rela- 
tion to the female schools of the West ward, with the follow- 
ing resolution to wit : 

" Resolved, That the building known as the Lancasterian 
school house be disposed of (the County Commissioners concur- 
ring) as soon as practicable, and on the best terms that can 
be procured." 

On motion it was further 

'' Resolved, That the President be authorized to receive bids, 
and receive proposals for the Lancasterian school house and lot 
— bids to close on the i8th of January, 1847." 



OWNERSHIP OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 123 

At the monthly meeting ensuing Mr. Zahm presented the 
petition of the American Engine and Hose Company " for 
tlie use of a piece of ground, for the purpose of building an 
Engine and Hose House, on the same, on the school lot corner 
of Prince and Chestnut," which was read and laid on the table. 
Whereupon, Mr. Kiefifer stated " that he had been authorized 
to offer $3,750 for the West Ward school house and lot." This 
oft'er was refused and $4,000 fixed as the lowest cash price. 

At the meeting of March following, a motion was moved, 
seconded and adopted, " that an adjourned meeting be held 
at the West ward school house on the following Saturday at 
2 p. m., to consider what alterations are necessary to better 
adapt the building for school purposes." 

At the April meeting it was 

'■ Rcsoh'cd, That the sale of the West ward school house and 
lot of ground be indefinitely postponed." 

The vote on this resolution was, yeas : Messrs. Atlee, 
Champneys, Carpenter, Gerber, Gillespie, Humes, M'Conomy, 
Weaver, Zahm, Zimmerman and Steinman. Nays : Messrs. 
Bowman, Cassidy, Keenan and Stevens. It was thereupon 
agreed that certain alterations should be made in accordance 
with plans of the Finance Committee. The contract for the 
same was awarded to John Sehner, with the proviso, that the 
alterations were not to exceed one hundred dollars. 

The writer has searched the records in the court house for 
some data relating to this building, but without success. From 
the foregoing extracts from the minutes, it would seem that 
the ownership of the Lancasterian school house lay jointly be- 
tween the city and the county of Lancaster. Although the 
County Commissioners appropriated the money for its con- 
struction, it may be said to be under the control of the Lan- 
caster City School Board to be used for school purposes. As 
has been previously said, it was handed down as a legacy from 



124 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the old system to the new, and not until it is proposed to dis- 
pose of it for other than school purposes will its ownership ever 
be questioned. 

From all the data obtainable, it is evident that the lot about 
this time extended from Prince eastward to Market. The 
minutes of the board show that a plot sixteen feet square was 
leased to Lesher and Schncr at an annual ground-rent of six- 
teen dollars, whereon to build an office — the same to be removed 
after one year at the instance of the Board. It is more than 
likely that this office-building", if ever erected, stood on the 
corner of Chestnut and Market. 

But why should any member of the Lancaster School Board 
ever think of disposing of this old landmark? Since 1823 it 
has stood as the last link between the present and the past. It 
may not be as handsome as many of our modern buildings, but 
around it hang sweet memories of other days. Joined with its 
early history are inextricably woven the names of the twenty- 
five first directors, and last, though not least — that of Lafayette. 
In the name of the old trees which surround it, may it not be 
said, " These are still the abodes of gladness ; the thick woof 
of green and waving branches is alive and musical with birds, 
and the place has always given warm protection to the brave 
hearts and innocent hands that have gamboled around our 
parent stems." 

In leaving the early history of this much-abused school build- 
ing, over which the Lancaster School Board wrangled for two 
long weary years, what more pleasing diversion for old and 
young than to dwell for a moment upon the names, the per- 
sonalities of the instructors of half a century ago. Of the 
eighty or more who taught for a time from 1838 to the close 
of 1849, ^s given in the appendix, all but a very few have 
passed away. Their familiar names and faces are now to be re- 
called only by an occasional one- who yet dwells among us in the 
silvery halo of a ripe old age. Should this strike a tender chord 



OWNERS! II I' OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 125 

in the heart of a Hvin^- relative here or there, amply well re- 
paid shall the author feel for the lahor involved in leathering- 
the names from the first minute hook of the hoard's proceedings. 

Equally pleasing; must it be for still others to glance over 
the names of the nearly one hundred directors who served on 
the Lancaster School Board during this same eventful decade 
of years, some to remain for a year, others for a longer period, 
and a very few, if any, down to the later seventies. In the list 
to be found elsewhere, incomplete as it may be, are set forth the 
names of the twenty-five pioneers, who, with a conscientious 
regard for a future " Greater Lancaster " laid the foundation 
of our local system of schools. 

On May i6, 1848, an event occurred in the Lancaster School 
Board, carrying with a peculiar sadness. At this meeting, the 
Rev. Samuel Bowman and Messrs. Keyes, Mooney and L^rie 
sent in their resignations to take immediate efifect. As no rea- 
son for their with<lrawal is given in the minutes, a certain well- 
known writer has drawn the inference that it was the result 
of disappointment over the defeat of the following series of 
resolutions offered by the Rev. Bowman : 

" Resolved, First, That the chairman of the Superintending 
Committee be requested to procure paste-board cards, contain- 
ing the Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Com- 
mandments, printed in large letters — said prayer, creed and 
commandments to be the C(immon English version of the 
Bible now in use in the schools. 

"Second, That said cards be suspended in each school room, 
and that the pupils be required from time to time to commit 
the same to memory, and to recite them at least once a week 
to their respective teachers : Provided, that any child may be 
excused from this duty whose parents or guardian require it." 

" Third, That no prayer shall be used in either the opening 
or the closing of the schools except such as shall have been 
first approved by the Superintending Committee." 



126 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Greatly to the surprise of Dr. Bowman and his friends, 
Thomas H. Burrowes offered the following as a substitute : 

" WiiERE.vs, The Third Section of the Declaration of Rights 
in the Constitution of Pennsylvania asserts that ' no human 
authority, can in any way whatever, control or interfere with 
the rights of conscience,' and in the twenty-sixth section 
thereof, it is solemnly declared ' that everything in said Declara- 
tion of Rights ' is excepted out of the general powers of Gov- 
ernment, and shall forever remain inviolable, yet : 

" Whereas, By the direction of the highest judicial tribunals 
in the state it is established, ' That Christianity is and always 
has been, a part of the common law of the state of Pennsylva- 
nia,' to the end solely of prohibiting" ' blasphemy of the Chris- 
tian Deity, ridiculing the Christian Scriptures, or Religion, 
profane cursing or swearing ; and a violation of the Christian 
Sabbath ; which acts our statute laws therefore punish,' not as 
sins or ofifenses against God, but as crimes injurious to and 
having a malignant influence on society ; for it is certain that 
by these practices no one pretends to prove any supposed truths, 
deduct any supposed errors, or advance any sentiments what- 
ever. And ; 

" Whereas, These well-attested principles of our constitu- 
tion and laws render it imperative upon this Board to adopt 
such measures as shall, on the one hand, protect the clear and 
undoubted rights of conscience of all the youth committed to 
their charge, and, on the other hand afl^ord them sound and 
necessary information as to their rights and duties as citizens 
when they shall have taken their places upon the great stage of 
adult life. Therefore, be it 

"Resolved, As the settled conviction of this Board and for 
the future government of the schools in the premises: First, 
That the Christian Scriptures of the Old and New Testament 
shall be used in such of the common schools of the city as are 
sufficiently advanced therefor as a reading book, containing, 



OWNERSHIP OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 127 

as they do, the authentic history of the orii^in of our race, of 
the condition of the whole race, for many centuries, and of the 
condition and transactions of a portion of it down to the i^^rand 
era of Christianity, and containing also the best exposition of 
that system of Christian morality upon which our lej^-al code 
of morals is founded. Second, That each parent or "uardian 
shall furnish his child or ward with such version of the Chris- 
tian Scriptures as he shall prefer, without question by directors 
or teachers. Third, That if any parent or guardian shall object 
to the use of the Christian Scriptures, by his or her ward, in 
school, such child or ward shall not be required to use any 
version thereof. Fourth, That no particular passage or pas- 
sages shall be extracted from the Scriptures and taught sepa- 
rately in the schools, either as an act of religion or otherwise, 
but that the whole thereof shall be used as a reading book. 
Fifth, That no creed, confession of faith, prayer or other act 
of religion, shall hereafter be taught in any of the public schools 
in this city ; such instruction being solely and particularly the 
province and duty of the parents, or of the spiritual guards 
selected by them." 

On motion, the board adjourned to meet on Tuesday the 
twenty-second inst. for the purpose of disposing of the fore- 
going resolution and amendments. 

At the adjourned meeting President Steinman stated that 
"the preamble and resolutions offered by Mr. Burrowes as an 
amendment to the resolution of the Rev. Mr. Bowman, in rela- 
tion to having the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed and the 
Ten Commandments printed on paste-board cards, and put up 
on the walls of the school rooms, was now before the board." 
Mr. Burrowes stated that he wished "to strike out the words, 
" without note or comment 'i, in the resolution offered by him 
as an amendment, which was agreed to. On motion of Messrs. 
Zahm and Mathiot, that the whole subject be indefinitely post- 
poned, Messrs. Bowman and Zahm called for the yeas and 



128 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

nays on the resolution of postponement, which resulted as fol- 
lows : Carpenter, Cassidy, Gerber, Gillespie, Kieffer, Keenan, 
M'Conomy, Mathiot, Weaver, Withers, Zahm, Zimmerman, 
Steinman, President — 13 yeas. Nays, Atlee, Baker, Bohnson, 
Bowman, Burrowes, Humes, Keise, Metzger, Mooney, Urie, 
Whiteside — 11. 

For those of an analytical turn, bent on determining the 
actual state of mind of the nearly equally divided vote on this 
important question of religious teaching in the public schools, 
the foregoing preamble and resolutions are respectfully sub- 
mitted. The indefinite postponement of this far-reaching meas- 
ure was no doubt accepted by the advocates of religious instruc- 
tion in the public schools as paramount to its final elimination 
from the school curriculum. 

However people may have difl^ered at that early day as to 
the use of the Bible in the public schools, few stood ready to 
question the sincerity of Rev. Bowman in his attempt to sur- 
round the schools of his adopted city with all the moral and 
religious safeguards which to his mind seemed so essential to 
the proper training of the youth of the city. The writer shall 
not attempt to question the motives which prompted Thomas 
H. Burrowes in ofi^ering the amendment which dififered so 
radically from that of his friend and co-worker, Dr. Bowman. 
It may be said, however, that from the time this great and good 
man entered the city in 1827, as co-rector of Saint James' Epis- 
copal Church, he was an advocate of religious teaching, first, 
under the Lancasterian system, and later in the public schools. 
In addition, he was among the first to establish "infant 
schools," one of which was successfully conducted in Franklin 
Academy. The teaching in these schools, however, was alto- 
gether dififerent from the instruction given in later kindergarten 
schools, being principally of a moral and religious nature. They 
were organized much in the same way as those of to-day by 
the ladies of the citv, for the benefit of children under five years 



OWNERSIIIl' OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 129 

of age. There are those yet Hvhig who were active in the sup- 
port of these schools, out of which have grown largely the 
present system of kindergarten instruction. 

The use of the Bible, as a reading book, as many can still 
recall, was rather the rule than the exception in many of the 
schools of Pennsylvania, for years after the common school 
system was adopted, especially among the Germans of the 
northern part of this county, where the people were loth to ex- 
change the Bible for the ordinary reading-books ; many of which 
have fallen far beneath the old English reader published in 
1829. If the great majority of reading books of the present 
time are more artistically bound and illustrated, their contents 
in no way compare with the old M'Guffy reader of half a cen- 
turv ago. In general, their moral and religious tone has almost 
entirely disappeared, leaving little to be commended along the 
line of moral culture. 

Among the many reforms inaugurated during this decade, 
was that of abolishing " uniform dress," worn on special occa- 
sions ; setting apart " sewing days " for the girl pupils ; petition- 
ing the Legislature to change the school age from five to six 
years ; ordering all deeds to be recorded ; entering into an agree- 
ment with Mr. Maxwell for the lease of his printing office, for 
the use of the Lancaster Female Seminary, which, by Act of 
Assembly was allowed to be used ; the renting of the Friends' 
Meeting house ; calling of a " town meeting " for authority to 
increase the tax rate ; creating a sinking fund, providing for 
General Superintendence Committee ; taxing non-resident 
pupils ; prohibiting boys from chewing tobacco in the school 
rooms or smoking on the school grounds ; granting the " Frank- 
lin Debating Society " and the " American Senate " the use 
of a room ; providing books for indigent children ; requiring 
teachers to " keep school " six days out of seven — later grant- 
ing a half holiday ; discussing the project of a " truant school " ; 
requiring teachers to sweep their own rooms three times a 
13 



130 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

week ; ordering- a " Fourth of July Celebration," with copies of 
Judge Champney's speech, for the use of the members of the 
board ; introduction of Mitchell's new Geography of the World, 
and a copy of the " Columbian Calculator " for the boys' high 
school ; granting '' rewards of merits " to all diligent pupils ; 
presentation of a clock, by Father Keenan, to the girls' high 
school ; certificates given teachers as a recognition of standing 
in the profession ; disciplining bad boys for truancy and stone- 
throwing ; report of the " town meeting," fixing the number 
of pupils at not over sixty in any one school ; providing ther- 
mometers for all the schools ; employing a Mr. Webster to give 
drawing lessons in the schools ; suggesting the idea of all the 
children of proper age patronizing the " Mechanics Library." 

And in this connection it may not be a departure from my 
story to state how this circulating library, which has done so 
much good in a quiet way, came to be established in our midst 
so many years ago : It is stated by the biographer of the Rev. 
William Augustus Muhlenberg, of whom mention has been 
made, that " in the spring following his advent in this city, 
he was instrumental in calling a meeting of citizens of the town 
to form "A Public Apprentices' Library.'" Very few at- 
tended, but a committee was appointed to draft a Constitution 
for the Library, and Mr. Muhlenberg was made its chairman. 
A little later, this Library Committee met in his study on the 
question of forming an " Atheneum," whose history has since 
become familiar to the few who have given it their support. 

Another account says : " That while movements were making 
for the extension of learning to the children of the town and 
county, a number of Master Mechanics of the city, perceiving 
that they were destitute of the means of mental improvement, 
and taught by their own experience that idleness is the prolific 
source of vice — the rock upon which has stranded the highest 
hopes and fondest expectations of parents and friends — with 
commendable determination to project a plan, by which the 



OWNERSHIP OF LANCASTERIAN BUILDING. 131 

leisure hours of their apprentiees might he rationally employed, 
convened a puhlic meeting for consultation and advice upon 
this suhject. Out of this meeting- soon grew the Mechanics 
Library. A constitution was formed, and suhmitted to the 
Supreme Court by which a charter was obtained May 26, 1831." 

" This Library," the account continues," soon became the cen- 
ter of attraction to the apprentices and an im])rovement morally 
as well as mentally, became apparent in their habits and condi- 
tions. In the year 1838, a new and capacious hall was erected 
on South Queen street, for the better accommodation of the 
crowds which gathered from time to time therein, to listen to 
the words of instruction as they fell from the lips of the lec- 
turers engaged through the enterprise and liberality of the 
members." 

The old Mechanics Hall ! What recollections of interest 
center around this olden-time place of meeting, where young 
and old loved to congregate ! If its history could be written, 
even without coloring, it would stand for all that is good and 
much that was harmful. If it served its i)urpose at times for 
the uplifting of society, at other times it was the rendezvous 
for all kind of gatherings, which were common to the town in 
those far-ofif days. 

That there should have been occasion to establish an Appren- 
tices' library over sixty years ago, when the city was scarcely 
one-sixth in population of what it is at the present day, can 
hardly be imagined by those who have failed to inform them- 
selves respecting the conditions which prevailed in the indus- 
trial world of Lancaster at the time the Mechanics' Library 
was first instituted. During those early times, before the in- 
vention of labor-saving machinery, the old town had its numer- 
ous small industries in which nearly all articles in common use 
were manufactured by hand. To serve in any one of these 
industrial establishments, a boy w^as compelled to undergo an 
apprenticeship of from two to four years before he could assume 



132 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the dignity of " master-workman " among his fellow trades- 
men. Time has since brought about marvelous changes in the 
business, industrial and commercial world of Lancaster and 
elsewhere, requiring, possibly, a different kind of an education 
than that received by the boys and girls of half a century ago. 
And yet, a thorough knowledge of the elements of instruction 
is even more necessary at the present time, than at any other 
previous epoch since the adoption of the common school sys- 
tem. And here the question may arise in the mind of the con- 
servative, slow-going citizen, " What has this greater Lan- 
caster, to which reference has been made, to do with the public 
schools of our city?" In return, the query may be ventured, 
" What are the public schools worth to any community, unless 
they instill into the hearts of our young people a greater love for 
the uplifting of society ; for the extension, growth, and indus- 
trial development of the city, whose municipal affairs they are 
to direct in the years to come. In the school boy of to-day — 
the coming man of to-morrow, we have an abiding faith. And 
we venture the prediction that with the incoming of the year 
1918, when Lancaster shall celebrate its one hundredth anniver- 
sary as a municipality the city's boundaries will no longer be 
confined to their present narrow limits of " two miles square." 



CHAPTER X. 

PASSING OF THE OLD ACADEMIES. 

Higher Education— Passing of the old Academies— The Incoming 
of the New — Arrangements entered into to send Forty High School 
boys to Franklin College— Purchase of the Presbyterian Session 
House for Male High School— Patrick Cassidy's Influence in Pro- 
moting Higher Education — Recollections of Joshua O. Colburn— 
Professor Becker — Kersey Coates — Daniel Kirkwood — Items of Hu- 
man Interest. 

To contintie the hi.storical narrative in sueii clironolog-ical 
order as not to overlook certain events that could not well be 
touched upon in previous chapters, it will now be necessary to 
enter upon the subject of higher education. As the minutes 
show, no branch of the common school work has provoked more 
discussion in the councils of the Lancaster City School Board 
than that concerned with the organization of high schools. 
]\Ianv of our citizens have believed, and others long adhered 
to the opinion that the Legislature in creating the act, never 
intended it to include more than the common branches. Along 
this same line of reasoning it has been claimed by some who 
have kept in touch with the school problem, that the well-to- 
do should provide for the education of their children beyond 
grammar school out of their own private funds. In support 
of these oft-repeated assertions the founders of the system, 
especially in Lancaster, are pointed out as examples worthy 
of imitation by their successors. Whether the larger part of 
the school fund has gone to the support of the primary, sec- 
ondary, grammar or high schools, is not the purpose of the 
author to show, except as the minutes may disclose it. Of one 
thing we are assured : this common school fund has for many 
years been sufficiently large to provide for all the children of 
the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, an education such as 

133 



134 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

might fit them for every department of life. If the public 
schools have fallen short in this direction, as some insisted, 
leaving- a fair percentage of the youth of the state to seek a 
still better education outside of the common schools, the cause 
should be sought and the remedy applied. 

In laying the foundation for a system of public education in 
this city, as far back as 1838, two ideas were prominent — 
Hist, "a high school shall be established as soon as practicable " ; 
second, " no child shall pass from a lower to a higher grade 
unless well grounded in the essentials of reading, writing and 
arithmetic." Abundance of evidence has already been found, 
with other corroborating testimony yet to appear, to justify the 
statement that the promoters of our local system of schools 
never contemplated abridging the course of study nor of con- 
fining it to the lower grade of schools. On the contrary, the 
system was launched on the broadest lines, and at a time too, 
when the condition of the school board's treasury might have 
justified the directors in eliminating higher education entirely. 
Considering the class of men who were active in educational 
development during those early years, is it reasonable to sup- 
pose that they were actuated by no higher motives, in the estab- 
lishment of a system of schools, than those involving the mere 
essentials ? 

It is, however, somewhat difficult to understand under what 
act of Assembly the Lancaster School IJoard established its 
first distinctive high school ; for nowhere in the general school 
laws down to 1895, nor in any of the special acts constituting 
Lancaster a separate school district, from 1836 down to the 
present time, is the term " high school " mentioned. There- 
fore, the directors of this city, wdien they set the machinery in 
motion in 1838, and later, in 1849, providing for a separate high 
school, acted, no doubt under an implied right, rather than 
in conformity with the letter of the law. Down to 1850, there 
were but three cities in the Commonwealth, namely, Philadel- 



TASSING OF THE OLD ACADEMIES. 135 

phia, Pittsl)iirg- and Easton, authorized l)y special legislation to 
establish high schools. All the other cities, towns and boroughs, 
down to 1895 must have acted by common consent. By ref- 
erence to this later act, we lind the following, " That directors 
or controllers of any school district may establish public high 
schools, and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction 
shall prescribe a uniform course of instruction which shall be 
taught in the high schools of each grade." Thus, after a period 
of sixty years had elapsed, was the Pennsylvania Legislature 
prevailed upon, not only to recognize the establishment of high 
schools, but to make provision for their support. 

Bearing more particularly on the status of high schools, 
prior to the act of 1895, Mr. Wickersham, in his " Education in 
Pennsylvania," says : " While there never was a time under the 
common school system when directors had not the power to 
grade their schools, and consequently to establish one or more 
of a higher grade than others, this power was not expressly 
given in the school laws of 1834, 1836, or in the act of 1849; 
but it was clearly implied in all of them. The law of 1834 
provided that each school district should contain a competent 
number of common schools for the education of every child 
within the limits thereof ; it did not determine the extent of the 
education to be imparted ; later, the act of 1850 provided for 
graded schools. It is safe to say," continues ]\Ir. Wickersham, 
" that from the time of State Superintendent Findlay, down to 
the present day, each superintendent favored higher education 
as absolutely essential to a complete common school education. 
" Superintendent Burrowes, in his iirst report to the Legisla- 
ture, while admitting that the laws then in force were defective, 
advocated high schools, declaring that our people will not be 
satisfied with the mere rudiments of learning ; that such schools 
were already in operation in many (^f the larger towns, as 
Carlisle, Washington, Lewistown, etc." 



136 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

In addition to these reasons, Governor Shunk expressed the 
opinion that " when the Pennsylvania system became fully 
matured, it would embrace ' Infant Schools and Superior 
Schools.' " And yet, notwithstanding- all the able arguments 
set forth, nearly sixty years were to roll by before the Penn- 
sylvania Legislature could be prevailed upon to formulate a 
law recognizing high schools as a coherent part of the common 
school system. With the foregoing facts so ably set forth by 
the master minds of those early times in favor of higher edu- 
cation, the ciuestion may well arise, why did the Legislature 
refuse to be guided by the opinions of those exponents of 
higher educational needs ? Back of the members of Senate and 
House were the common people so thoroughly grounded in 
the conviction that the common schools were for the masses 
rather than for the classes, that not all the powerful argument 
of even a Stevens, in 1835, could have saved the system from 
defeat had he argued in favor of higher education. Higher 
institutions of learning were not by any means new to the 
people of Pennsylvania, along in the thirties : they were, if 
anything, among the most pow'erful agencies, each striving to 
maintain its own supremacy. In number there were in 1838, 
nine colleges, fifty-two academies, and fifteen seminaries ; in 
1 841, nine colleges, sixty-five academies, and forty-one female 
seminaries ; in 1842, the same number of colleges and academies, 
and thirty-seven female seminaries; in 1843, ten colleges, sixty- 
four academies, and thirty-seven seminaries. The payments to 
many of these from the State Treasury, from 1838 to 1843, 
amounted to $216,786. The Legislature of 1843, however, 
reduced the appropriations to colleges, academies, and female 
seminaries by one half for the ensuing year, and provided for 
discontinuing them altogether by repealing the act by which 
they were granted. 

Resting under the firm conviction that the appropriations 
were to continue for a period of ten years, as the act inferred. 



PASSING OF TllK OLD ACADEMIES. 137 

its summary repeal, was a tremendous blow to this hig'her class 
of schools. The cause, however, is not difficult to find after 
a moment's reflection. The conditions upon which certain 
grants were made to the higher institutions of learning by the 
state, show that primarily, it was for the education of teachers. 

The experiment of educating teachers in colleges failed for 
two reasons : first, that the demand iov educated teachers was 
limited ; second . that the general work of a college and the 
special work of teacher could never be expected to harmonize. 
Dr. Burrowes, in his report of 1838 gives the unsatisfactory 
result in these forcible words : " The colleges have already 
been tried as a means of supplying teachers, and with little 
success. Within the last eight years $48,500 have been given 
by the State to five of these institutions, principally on condi- 
tion that thev should instruct a number of persons (ninety-one) 
for teachers of English schools, annually, for a si:)ecified time. 
Last year there were only sixty-one students preparing for this 
business in all the colleges in the State. Every one knows how 
few of the persons ever actually practiced the profession. It 
is doubtful whether there are at the present moment in the 
whole State one hundred persons thus actually and perma- 
nently engaged as teachers of primary schools." As early as 
1827, Franklin Academy received an annual bounty of $3,000. 
To what extent it was increased during later years, the author 
is unable to state. 

Among the noted colleges, academies, seminaries and other 
private schools that once upon a time flourished in this county, 
many of wdiich were compelled to close their doors owing either 
to the loss of the State's bounty or to the inroads of the more 
popular Normal Schools, were the Abbyville Institute, located 
a short distance west of the city ; James Demant's Female Semi- 
nary on West Orange street; Franklin College, later merged 
into Franklin and Marshall College ; the Cedar Hill Seminary, 
established at Mount Joy in 1837, by the Rev. N. Dodge; the 



138 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Mount Joy Institute established in 1838 by John H. Brown, 
who later became a noted teacher in Philadelphia ; the Mount 
Joy Academy, founded in 1851, later turned into the Soldiers' 
Orphan School ; the Strasburg Academy, founded in 1839, by 
the Rev. David M'Carter ; the Susquehanna Institute, estab- 
lished at Marietta as a stock company in 1843, followed by the 
Marietta Academy, an institution for both sexes, opened by 
James P. Wickersham, in 1845 ; the Churchtown Academy, in 
Caernarvon township ; the Paradise Academy, started in 1859, 
continuing until 1865 ; also the Young Ladies' Female Semi- 
nary of the same place, established by the progressive citizens 
of the village, and conducted from 1854 until i860, by the Rev. 
B. B. Kilkelly, an Episcopal clergyman. In addition, memory 
recalls the Washington Institute, Columbia, chartered in 1853, 
used later as a public school ; the Chestnut Level Academy, a 
noted school for boys; established in 1852, by the Presbyterian 
church of that place ; the Union High School, Coleraine, estab- 
lished in 1859, by James Andrews, a prominent educator. In 
this connection reference may be made to Ezra Lamborn's 
Private School in W. Lampeter township ; John Beck's School 
for Boys, at Lititz, started nearly a century ago ; the Linden 
Hall Seminary of the same place, with a history which dates 
back far into the past; and the Yeates Institute, incorporated 
in 1857, having for its object " the education of young men in 
all the customary branches of a thorough academical course 
of learning." This school was endowed by Miss Catharine 
Yeates, from whom it takes its name. For a time, many of 
the above-named struggled along hoping against hope that 
the time might come when they were to constitute a part of the 
free school system. But alas ! public opinion willed otherwise. 
It is too late to draw conclusions as to what might have 
been the condition of education in Pennsylvania, in this year 
1904, had the Legislature, as far back as 1834, and later, 
recognized these numerous academies, colleges and seminaries 



PASSING OF THE OLD ACADEMIES. 139 

as a coherent part of the common school system. If by their 
fruits they are to be judged, the evidence of their influence for 
good is yet to be found here and there among the older gen- 
eration of the people of this city and county. Within recent 
years, as the signs of the time would seem to indicate, the 
leading educators of the state have awakened to a realization 
of the loss more than one locality has sustained through the 
passing of these schools. It is not at all surprising then, to see 
a movement inaugurated to more fully impress upon the Legis- 
lative mind the importance of giving direct support as well as 
a closer supervision to high schools. In the nu'al districts espe- 
cially has the loss been most seriously felt ; and from these 
localities the voice of the tax-payer is heard, demanding what 
time and wisdom have made only too apparent — the establish- 
ment of high schools in place of the " academies." 

Passing on to the evolution of the high schools of this city, it 
is to their successes and failures that the reader's attention will 
from time to time be directed. It W'ill be shown, much as it 
is to be regretted, that these respective schools, from the time 
of Gad Day, in 1838, down to this year (1904) have never 
ceased to be the favorite target for the arrows of prejudice. 
And it need not be supposed that all opposition has come from 
their enemies ; their friends, have at times, while defending 
them, vigorously attacked what seemed to be their inherent 
weaknesses. While this field is a fertile one, affording the 
author ample means for comment, he feels little disposed to 
anticipate what the minutes of the board may have to disclose 
in succeeding chapters. 

Under a resolution of John F. Steinman, the Boy's High 
School was opened on the first Monday of September, 1838, 
under the management of Professor Day. For a term of three 
years, ^or until 1841, he was both principal and superintendent, 
a twofold position peculiar to this city for many years follow- 
ing. Upon his resignation to enter Franklin College as a tutor. 



140 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Mr. Jacob Price served temporarily in the capacity of principal, 
until Mr. Mackey was installed as Mr. Day's successor. 

From such facts as have been gleaned from the records of 
the board, as well as from living witnesses, it is evident that 
both Mr. Day and Mr. Price were in many respects remarkable 
men in the line of their professional calling. Whence came 
the former and whither he drifted after his somewhat checkered 
career here is not definitely known. He is described by one 
who attended Franklin College at the time, as a man of per- 
haps fifty, of medium height, wearing a black Prince Albert, 
a ruffled shirt-front and a high-topped beaver. These gave 
him a dignity of bearing not to be ignored by the other old 
schoolmasters of the town. As nearly as can be learned, he 
was the descendant of an old-time Down East educator, of 
whom there were four sons, Ira, Dan, Asa and Gad, the com- 
bined letters of whose Christian names did not exceed the 
twelve characters of that alphabet for the teaching of which 
he was peculiarly adapted. 

Aside from certain well-known peculiarities, and leaning 
toward his favorite hobby, the monitorial system, he was a 
genial, warm-hearted educator. He had his human side, al- 
though it never carried him so far as did the singular state of 
mind of one other teacher of the boys' high School. Of the 
latter the story is told that, after returning from a fishing ex- 
cursion, he deliberately stood upon his head in front of one of 
the leading hotels ; and when asked why he had resorted to 
such an undignified act, he replied in his jocular way, " To 
let the water run out of my boots." It would seem that a man 
may be very wise in one direction and very simple and foolish 
in another. 

Jacob Price, whom the writer well recalls was not only a 
capable teacher, but a man well versed in the classics. In addi- 
tion to his daily work in the school room, he gave private lessons 
at his home in Latin and Greek. Frequently he was sum- 



PASSING OF I'lIlL OI.D ACADEMIES. 141 

nioncd l)y district school boards to examine their teachers. All 
in all, he was much respected, as will he seen later, when the 
board authorized the closins;" of all the schools to attend his 
funeral. 

Of ]\Ir. Samuel Maekey, little of interest can l)e said. iM-om 
the time of his election to the time of his death in 1843, ^i^' was 
unfitted to be principal of the boys' high school, being unable 
on account of ill-health to be at his post of duty more than a 
few days at a time. Daniel Kirkwood became his successor, 
holding the position for several }-ears. He was a man of l)r(^ad, 
liberal ideas, tall, digniiied, who found his greatest pleasure in 
his school-room duties. 

Let us now turn to Mechanics" Hall, where the Lancaster 
School P)Oard is in session. It is the fourteenth of May, 1844. 
The Rev. Samuel Bowman, still a member of the board, rises 
slowly to his feet and presents the following resolution : 

"Whereas, It is the duty of this Board to provide the best 
and most thorough education in their power, for the pupils in 
their charge : 

" Whereas, With our present limited funds it is impossible 
tO' procure instruction for them in the higher branches of learn- 
ing, without aid from abroad : Therefore, 

" Rcsok'cd, That this board engage to furnish from the com- 
mon schools under their care, an average of not less than forty 
boys, to the academical department of Franklin College ; and 
to pay for their tuition there, at the rate per pui)il of fifteen 
dollars per annum : provided that the trustees of Franklin 
College on their part, engage to receive them on these terms, 
and to have them instructed in all the branches of that in- 
stitution." , 

That this resolution, coming from so eminent a man as 
Bishop Bowman, was laid on the table by an almost unanimous 
vote, might have discouraged one less inspired with the justice 



142 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

of the ends he sought, goes without saying. At the meeting 
following, however, a letter addressed to President Moderwell 
was read : " Sir : At an adjourned meeting of the Trustees 
of Franklin College, the following resolution was unanimously 
adopted, and I am directed to communicate the same to the 
Lancaster School Board : 

" Rcsok'cd, That after the numhcr of scholars in the different 
departments of Franklin College shall amount to seventy, the 
price of tuition shall l)e reduced to fifteen dollars per annum 
for each pupil. 

" Signed, Samuel Bowman, 

"Secretary of Trustees, FraiikHn Collei:;e." 

Although this communication met the same fate as the reso- 
lution, it did not hy any means deter the advocates of the meas- 
ure from making another effort in attempting what at this day 
might seem like a departure from the letter if not the spirit of 
the law upon which the common school system was estahlished. 
Nothing daunted, at the next meeting came the following series 
of resolutions, namely : 

" Whereas, By the Seventeenth Section of an Act regulating 
the common schools of this Commonwealth, it is provided that, 
' where a school is or shall hereafter be endowed by bequest or 
otherwise, the Board of Directors of the District in which such 
school is located, are hereby authorized to allow such school 
to remain under the immediate direction of regularly appointed 
trustees of the same, and to appropriate as nmch of the district 
school funds as they may think just and reasonable.' Therefore, 

" Resohed, That from and after the first Monday in Septem- 
ber next, forty, at least, of the pupils under the charge of this 
board, shall be entered into the academical department of 
Franklin College ; and that six hundred dollars per annum be 
and are hereby appropriated for their tuition." 



PASSING OF THE OLD ACADEMIES. 143 

For two years, or until ATarch, 1846, tliis measure was 
allowed to rest — iiiiwe])t. iinlionored, unsung. Then it was re- 
surrected. Broken up into seven clauses by Thomas H. T.ur- 
rowes, whose name does not appear previously for or against, 
it was adopted by a nearly unanimous vote. 

While the passage of this resolution may strike the reader 
as a radical departure from the meaning and intent of the 
common school law, it was simply a means to an end, and in no 
way intended to be permanent. From reasons as given in sup- 
port of the measure, it is evident that Franklin College, under 
the act of 1838, had been receiving bounty from the state, by 
' bequest or otherwise.' The relation of many of these higher 
institutions of learning, as has been said, was somewhat dif- 
ferent from what it is to-day. However, at the meeting of 
July, 1849, it was 

" Resolved, That the existing connection of this board with 
Franklin College shall cease on the second Monday of August 
following, being the termination of the current year. And that 
this board will at once proceed to the establishment oi a suffi- 
cient high school for such pupils as may require the benefits 
of an establishment of this grade." 

Looking at this question of higher education as it came up 
at the time of the " union " between the Lancaster City School 
Board and Franklin College, many will regret that the ' existing 
connection ' was ever permitted to terminate. If the instruc- 
tion as given in this old college of half a century ago was 
highly appreciated, how much more would be that flowing 
from Franklin and Marshall College at the present day? But 
the advanced training was not to come that way. So, leaving 
this " question " among the by-gones, the year 1849 '"'''^y t)^ 
accepted as the year in which the boys' high school in this city 
had its beginning. Previous to this time it was such only in 
name. 



144 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

It was in the year 1849 that Dr. Patrick Cassidy's influence 
began to be felt in promoting the best interests of higher edu- 
cation in Lancaster city. From practical knowledge gained 
during his earlier years as a teacher in the schools of Ohio, 
where he became distinguished as an educator, down to the 
close of his life, Dr. Cassidy threw his heart and soul into the 
great work of placing the schools of his adopted city on a sure 
foundation. To this end by means of almost daily visits, he 
became fully conversant with the wants of the schools, and 
expended freely from his own private funds for the purchase 
of works on the art and science of teaching. The following 
preamble and resolution ofifered by him and seconded by George 
M. Steinman, evince to a wonderful degree the interest he at 
all times manifested in the public schools : 

" Whereas, The great importance which a judicious educa- 
tion is to every member of the community, to insure perpetuity 
of free institutions of the country and thus entail on the rising 
generation the most effectual and certain means to insure the 
happiness of man. and the liberty of the country, it is incum- 
bent on the board, to procure such works on education, as may 
be available, in which are published the improvements in the 
art of teaching, for the information of the members of the 
board and the teachers under their direction : 

" And Whereas, The manner in which the schools are gov- 
erned, pupils disciplined, children educated, exerts such power- 
ful influence and control over the future character of the in- 
dividuals subject to the respective influences of the different 
methods of school discipline and the manner of imparting 
knowledge now in practice in this and other countries, it is 
imperatively necessary that such system ought to be recom- 
mended to the board, and adopted by the teachers, as will be 
most certain to produce the most satisfactory results : 

" And Whereas, To enable the members of this board to 
become acquainted with, to recommend to the teachers for their 



PASSING OF THE OLD ACADEMIES. 145 

adoption, and tlicni to successfully carry out the best system 
of imparting knowledge, be it 

" Rcsohcd, That this board appropriate fifteen dollars, to 
be expended in the purchase of books, journals and periodicals, 
or other pulilications upon the subject of education, in which 
are published the improved methods of school government, and 
modes of imparting elementary knowledge to pupils, for the 
use and information of members and teachers under their 
direction : 

" Resolved, That the president is hereby authorized and in- 
structed to subscribe for five copies of the ' Massachusetts Com- 
mon School Journal,' and he is also instructed to purchase all 
of the back numbers of the latter book, either in pamphlet or 
book form : 

" Resolved, That the President be authorized to receive do- 
nations in the name of the board, of books and other publica- 
tions upon the subject of education : 

"Resolved, That the secretary be authorized to take charge 
of books, journals, periodicals, or other publications, which may 
hereafter become the property of the board — he to be the 
librarian to give out the books for the perusal of the members 
or teachers, and all books gotten from him to be returned or 
accounted for weekly. 

" Resok'ed, That the board recommend that each one of the 
teachers in the common schools in the city subscribe for some 
one of the following periodicals : ' The Alassachusetts Common 
School Journal,' edited by Horace Mann, and published at 
Boston ; ' The Connecticut School Journal,' the ' District School 
Journal,' edited by Francis Dwight, Esq." 

An appropriation of fifteen dollars by the Lancaster School 
Board for periodicals and other aids for teaching in the year 
1849! Think of it! — when, in this year, 1904, school litera- 
ture on almost every conceivable subject, is as plentiful as the 
number and variety of " free " text books. Let the teacher of 
14 



146 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

to-day, then, not grow weary in well-doing-, but rather rejoice 
in the reflection that, with all her trials and adversities, she 
has been permitted to enjoy blessings which, sixty years ago, 
were unknown to her predecessors. 

The immediate eiTect which followed the adoption of Dr. 
Burrowes' report abrogating the agreement with Franklin Col- 
lege, was the purchase of the Presbyterian Session house, at 
the corner of Cherry and Grant street in the rear of the Pres- 
b}terian church. The money for the purchase of this stone 
structure came from the sale of the rear portion of the South 
Duke street lot, heretofore referred to. The fitting-up of this 
building in such an uninyiting locality, marks the very begin- 
ning of the first distinctive high school for boys in the city of 
Lancaster under the free school system. Many of our older 
citizens, then boys, can well recall the exact location of this 
prison-like structure, used later as a night school. In it as 
principal was J. B. Livingston, who, along in the fifties be- 
came a member of the board, and likewise its presiding officer 
at a much later day. 

The gathering of these little items of human interest from 
the musty old volumes, may, it is hoped, awaken long-forgotten 
memories of days gone by. In a few years more, none will re- 
main to bear witness of the facts once so pregnant with human 
life and interest. How many of the young men, who in the 
year 1849 marched from Franklin College to the stone build- 
ing in the alley, are still with us to recall the occasion ? What 
a long list might be mentioned — boys then, old men now — 
who took their seats on the slab benches within the old school 
building! If the number yet living be few, those who have 
passed to their final rest are still with us when we touch the 
mystic chord of memory. Sweet recollections in a minor key, 
m\ boys, but though fraught with sadness and longing, they 
bring with them the ultimate hope that we would not forget 
If we could and could not if we would. 



PASSTNC; OF THE OLD ACADEMIES. 147 

In i)lace of Daniel Kirkwood, elected to succeed Mr. jMackey, 
\vc find the followin,"' corps of instructors in this year, 1849: 
Samuel W'ilhelni Becker, principal, Joshua O. Colhurn, pro- 
fessor of luatheniatics. Kersey Coates, teacher of En_G,lish 
philosophy. 

Professor liecker was a man of perhaps thirty, of small, 
roimd face, light hair and of medium height. He was a be- 
spectacled Yankee, educated at the University of Virginia. 
Kersey Coates, on the othei" hautl, was of a mild disposition, 
wiry, suave and keen, a relative of the late Marriott Brosius. 
He was of middle age, with an eye ever on the alert for the 
main chance. It is said that years later he moved to Kansas 
City, Missouri, where he achieved a fortune in a commercial 
venture, the opera house of said town bearing his name. He 
too has long since passed to his final rest, as likewise have his 
coworkers in the cause of education of so many years ago. 

The following unique description of Professor Colburn is 
given by one who attended the boys' high school and was one 
of the " forty-niners." 

" Do I remember Joshua O. Colburn ?" came the reply to 
my inquiry. " Ah, none knew him better. He was professor 
of mathematics — a man of large, heavy frame, but not more 
than ordinarily well filled out with flesh ; of quick, hasty, but 
not graceful movement ; a man keen of ear but very short of 
sight ; of good learning, but with no special adaptability to 
impart it to others. 

" And, with his large frame, he had a pair of hands, which 
no ' catcher's glove ' could be found to fit. And wdien quick 
of temper, he judged some poor fellow could not grasp his 
vast ideas in algebra, mensuration and trigonometry — with 
what a ' thump " did that big paw land on the miscreant's head ! 
The only safety in the boy's life lay in the size of the surface 
struck. And what faulty sight! Why, it was possible for a 



148 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

boy to commit any depredation, in one corner of the recitation 
room, and make him beUeve it was quite in the opposite one. 
He could not depend on his hearing to repeat the story as given 
by the boys. And what a source of annoyance to him was his 
' blackboard rubber !' In place of a piece of calico dress or an 
old piece of towel or unbleached muslin, which he always kept 
ready for instant use, he besought the boys to bring from the 
butcher shop a piece of wooly sheepskin. This was brought and 
fixed on the flat side of a board, about the size of a brick. And 
so, when the old gentleman wanted the figures erased with the 
new sheepskin rubber, a general cry went up, " ba, ba, ba." 
And what punishment they would have gotten, but for his 
inability to fasten the guilt upon the obstreperous youngsters. 
" The school building," he went on, recalling old reminis- 
cences, " had a large study hall. One teacher had control of 
this, while the other heard recitations ; but never could poor 
Colburn be entrusted with this care ; therefore, it was always 
an exchange between Becker and Coates and Coates and 
Becker. With Joshua O. Colburn it was always figures, figures. 
From 9 to 12 and from 2 to 5 p. m. it was figures, figures: — 
enough to drive a boy mad." 

Leaving our old friend, to rummage through the volumes of 
other days, we find among the many rules and regulations gov- 
erning this school, in the old stone house, a few that may serve 
to remind the rising generation of the restrictions placed upon 
the scholars of other days. 

First, The school shall be opened for admission of pupils 
at five minutes before 9 a. m., and at 2 p. m. The roll shall be 
called at precisely 9 and 2, by the town clock ; and any children 
not in their seats before 9 and 2, shall be marked late on the 
register. 

Second, The exercises shall be closed at 12 and 5 p. m., ex- 
cept to pupils coming late, who shall remain twice as many 
minutes after the school hours as they were late. No absences 



PASSING OF THE OLD ACADEMIES. 149 

amounting- to half a clay shall he ])erniittcd without a written 
excuse from parent or guardian ; and in case of absence for 
more than one day without a written and satisfactory excuse, 
the seat of the pupil shall be forfeited and given to another. 

Third, The following shall be deemed sufficient excuse for 
absence : ( i ) Employment at home by order of parent or guar- 
dian ; (2) sickness of inii)il or family; (3) want of proper 
clothing ; (4) attendance on i)ublic worship, or religious ob- 
servance with consent of parent or guardian; (5) the exer- 
cises shall be commenced each morning by the principal or one 
of the professors reading or causing the pupils to read a chapter 
of the Bible, without note or comment ; (6) there shall be three 
courses of study, viz. : the English, the classics and the modern. 
The first shall consist of the branches, including mathematics 
wdiich constitutes a sound, practical English education. The 
second shall add the study of the Latin and Greek languages ; 
and the third, instead of Latin and Greek, shall add the study 
of German, French or Spanish. 

" The studies for pupils designated for college shall be 
directed accordingly ; and in all cases, so far as consistent with 
the rules of the school, the study of each pupil shall be shaped 
to suit the occupation or profession for which he is designed. 
In addition the strictest attention shall be given to handwriting 
and orthography. And a thorough course of book-keeping- 
shall be given ; and instruction in surveying with instruments 
shall be added to the routine of instruction." 

The above are the rules laid down for the government of the 
bovs' high school when it entered upon its career. Among the 
text-books used were those on mensuration, trigonometry, 
algebra, rhetoric, natural philosophy, history, exegetical exer- 
cises, surveying, in addition to those covering the classics. 
Under Rule 7, those who recall the late General Ditmars will no 
doubt reach the conclusion that the thought uppermost in his 



150 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

mind when he penned his will was to carry into effect the above 
provision, namely, " That the study of each pupil sJiall be 
shaped to suit tlie oeeupation or profession for zvJiicli he is 
designed." The impracticability of the scheme embraced in his 
will, for the establishment of a school of this kind, became only 
too apparent when the time came for carrying into practice 
his cherished ideas. Yet it contains an idea which we dare not 
lose sight of. 

During the time the boys' high school was in the stone build- 
ing the girls' school remained in the building at the corner of 
Prince and Chestnut, at first, under the charge of Mr. Clark, 
with the Misses Musser, Gill and Helfenstein as assistants. 
In the beginning of 1850, it was transferred to the room pre- 
viouslv occupied by James Demant's Female Seminary where 
Altick's carriage factory now stands, and near by, on the corner, 
stood " Harrison's Log Cabin," so familiarly known to every 
one in the city during the " Log Cabin and Hard Cider " cam- 
paign of 1840. 

In this school there were only two teachers employed at the 
time of the transfer — Miss Christie Musser and Miss Maria 
E. Gill — names whose mention, with their likenesses herein re- 
produced will touch a responsive chord in the hearts of more 
than one of their former pupils still lingering on the shady 
side of life. This was the status of the Lancaster High Schools 
at the opening of the year 1850. 



CHAPTER XI. 

NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 

New School Charter for Lancaster City — Board Increased from 
Twenty-five to Thirty-nine members — Finance Committee's Report 
Recommending Increased Tax-rate — President Steinman's Annual 
Statement Showing the Condition of the Schools — Alexander Hood's 
Appeal in behalf of Increased Salaries for Teachers. 

With the first dawn of the year 1850, there came as a New 
Year's gift to the Lancaster School Board, a new charter. Gov- 
ernor Johnson approved it on the second day of January of this 
year. As the reader has already learned, the School Board of 
this citv, down to the passage of this act had been acting under 
the school law of 1836, and such supplements as had been 
added thereto from time to time during- the following decade 
of years. As many of these were difficult of understanding 
and little adapted to the continued progress of the schools, this 
new act of assembly was looked upon by the directors and the 
community at large as the beginning of a new epoch, in which 
the School Board would be free from many of the uncertainties 
which previous acts had entailed. The more important features 
of this special act are herein set forth as follows : 

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly 
met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that 
the city of Lancaster shall continue to form one common school 
district for all purposes of education according to the existing 
common school laws of the Common w^ealth, except so much as 
is altered, supplied or repealed by the provisions of this act." 

Section 2, provided, "That on the first Tuesday of May next, 
and at the usual place of holding city elections, and between the 
hours of one and seven o'clock in the afternoon, the voters of 

151 



152 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

said city, shall elect thirty-six qualified citizens thereof, having 
resided therein one year next before the election, to serve as 
Common School Directors ; twelve for one year, twelve for 
two years, and twelve for three years, from the day of election, 
and annually thereafter at the same time and place, they shall 
elect twelve citizens, qualified as aforesaid, to serve for three 
years, which thirty-six citizens so elected, shall, with the Mayor 
and the Presidents of Select and Common Councils of the city, 
for the time being, as ex-officio members, constitute the Board 
of Directors of the Common Schools of the city of Lancaster." 

In the thirteen following sections of this act were many pro- 
visions not materially different from the previous act under 
which the board had been operating ; they increased the number 
of directors, however, from twenty-five to thirty-six, preserving 
the ex-ofiicio feature of the former act, which gave the new 
board a membership of thirty-nine directors. In its general 
features it differed little from the latter act of 1868, under 
which the present board is now acting. The act of 1850, how- 
ever, was neither " non-partisan " nor " bi-partisan," for the 
reason, perhaps, that at that early day, the political factor had 
failed to enter the Lancaster School Board, at least to such an 
extent as to disturb its monthly deliberations. 

Section 9 provided, " That all applicants for the station of 
teacher in any of the common schools of the city shall be ex- 
amined by such committee as the board may appoint for that 
purpose, in the presence of all the members who may see proper 
to attend ; and certificates signed by the committee shall be 
given to the candidates found qualified, setting forth the 
branches and the grade of school they are capable of teaching, 
without which no person shall be appointed to teach a common 
school within said city; but such certificate shall only be re- 
newed when the holders thereof apply, and on examination in 
the manner aforesaid, are found qualified for the schools of 
higher grade. 



NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 153 

Section 13, over which there was such prolonged discussion 
several years later, provided, " That all acts and parts of acts, 
joint resolutions, and parts of joint resolutions, altered or sup- 
plied, or inconsistent with this act, are hereby repealed, so far 
as the same relate to the city of Lancaster; and that this act 
shall continue to be the common school law of said city until 
expressly altered, or repealed, and shall neither be altered, af- 
fected, modified nor repealed, by implication nor by general 
words, in any common school law that may hereafter be 
enacted, unless expressly named therein." 

In the framing of this act of 1850, it would seem that every 
safeguard had been provided against its modification or re- 
peal, except through petition from the Lancaster School Board 
or its constituents, in convention assembled. Notwithstanding, 
when the act creating the office of County Superintendent of 
Schools was enacted in 1854, and the question naturally arose 
in the councils of the board as to what cities were exempt from 
its provisions, there was the greatest difference of opinion. 
Instead of this act of 1850 proving a blessing as its petitioners 
had expected, it became, in connection with the later act of 
1854, the fruitful source of the most acrimonious discussion 
extending down almost to the present day. 

On May 25, 1850, more than half a century ago, the newly 
elected directors met for organization, when the returns of 
the election held at the court house on the seventh previous 
were read by secretary pro tem. Zimmerman and adopted. The 
roll being called the following thirty-eight out of the thirty-nine 
members answered the roll-call, namely: John L. Atlee, Rev. 
John C. Baker, Thomas H. Burrowes, John Baer, Dr. Patrick 
Cassidy, Dr. Henry Carpenter, Michael Carpenter, E. C. Dar- 
lington, Peter G. Eberman, Henry Ehrenfreid, Col. George 
Ford, Peter Gerber, Charles Gillespie, M. D. Holbrook, Alex- 
ander H. Hood, A. G. Helfenstein, Alexander L. Hayes, John 
W. Jackson, Rev. Bernhard Keenan, Christian Keiffer, Edwin 



154 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

M. Kline, James Lagin, Rev. James M'Carter, William Math- 
iot, Peter M'Conomy, John M. Metzger, George A. Miller, 
Robert Moderwell, Henry Rotharmel, Hiram B. Swarr, Henry 
Stoeck, George Sanderson, George M. Steinman, John C. Van 
Camp, John Wise, Jacob Weaver, Godfreid Zahm, John 
Zimmerman. 

The following officers were elected by acclamation : Presi- 
dent, George M. Steinman; Treasurer, Peter M'Conomy; Sec- 
retary, John Zimmerman ; Messenger, Mathias Zahm ; Tax 
Collccter, William Lowry. After the appointment of the vari- 
ous committees, the board adjourned to meet a week later. 

At this adjourned meeting the following statement of the 
board's financial status was presented by chairman. Mr. Zahm, 
as follows : 

" To the President of the Board of School Directors of Lan- 
caster Cit\' : The undersigned committee of finance respect- 
fully report that they have examined the Treasurer's account, 
and after examining his receipts and vouchers, find a balance 
in his hands of one hundred and thirty-four dollars and sixty- 
two and one half cents ( 134.62 }<^). 

" The receipts paid into the treasury for the year just closed 
were as follows, to wit — 

Tax paid by Jacob Westheffer $6,675 00 

" " " William Lowry, in full 51800 

" " " J. Hamilton 100 00 

Price of building lots i,553 00 

State Appropriation IJ15 16 

Tuition in Male High School 40 00 

For Sundries 3 00 

Loan from George M. Kline 500 00 

" " Charles Gillespie 400 00 

" " Mrs. Margaret Lynch 1,000 00 

Balance in hands of Treasurer iii 53 

Total Receipts $12,015 69 



NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 155 

Exi'ENUlTURES. 

For tuition $6,606 94 

Attendance and cleaning schools 261 96 

Int., rent and $50 00 to African school 336 78 

Fuel 273 20 

Printing and Stationery (new house) 65 15% 

Purchasing lot and new liuilding 2,068 44 

Salaries 72 20 

Stoves, hardware and contingencies 41274^4 

Loan paid 1,787 65 

Balance on hand May 1850 130 62^ 

Total expenditures $12,015 6g 

The report contiimcs : " They have examined the report of 
J\rr. Lowrv, collector of school tax for the year just ending, 
and find that his (hipHcate has been fnlly paid up and settled. 
And find also that Jacob Wcsthefl^er had paid into the treasury 
the sum of $6,775, leaving uncollected after deducting com- 
missions and exonorations the sum of $625.00. The whole 
debt of the board, including $800.00, raised to meet the usual 
need of the board, at the end of the year amounts to $4,104.67. 

Estimated expenditures, for the ensuing year, exclusive of 
purchasing lots, buildings, and other extraordinary expenses : 

For tuition, including night schools $7-522 00 

Repairs and cleaning houses 300 00 

Interest and rent 346 28 

For African school house 50 00 

Fuel 325 00 

Salaries 100 00 

Printing and Stationery 100 00 

Repairs 250 00 

Debts now due and unpaid 257 00 

Contingencies for the year 1850 150 00 

Total estimated expenses for the year 1850 $9,400 28 

" To meet this amount of expenses," the report continues, 
" the saine rate of tax, twenty-seven cents on the $100 valua- 
tion of $3,052,000, will not produce a sufficient sum ; but the 
committee are happy to report that a small increase of three 



156 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

cents on the hundred-dollar valuation, will realize an ample 
sum, and will leave a considerable balance applicable to the 
further improvement of the schools, and the regular payment 
of interest, on such additional loans, if any, as the board shall 
see fit to contract ; together with a small sum for the annual 
reduction of the principal of the whole debt :" 

" If a tax of thirty cents on the $ioo valuation be assessed, 
the following will probably be the resources of the Treasury 
during the year, namely : 

Balance in the hands of the Treasurer $ 130 00 

Net amount of tax (30 cts on $100, on $3,052,000) 

After deducting commissions and expenses — say. 8,700 00 

Balance on duplicate, 1849 625 00 

Tutition in Male High School 100 00 

State appropriation 1,015 78 

Total receipts (estimated) $10,570 78 

Deduct estimate for ensuing year 9,400 28 

Leaving a balance of $ 1,170 50 

" The committee therefore offer the following, Resolved, 
That in addition to the other resources of the board, the sum 
of $9,156.00 be assessed on the school district for the ensuing 
year, being at the rate of thirty cents on the $100 of the valua- 
tion thereof. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

" GODFRIED ZaIIM, 

" Thomas H. Burrowes, 
" George A. Miller." 
Between the financial statement presented by Chairman 
Hayes in 1840, and Chairman Zahm in 1850 there is much 
worthy of attention by director and citizen, forming as it does 
the basis of comparisons during the incoming five decades. 
According to the report set forth in Chapter V., the total in- 
come of the board was $5,122.88, leaving a deficiency of 
$1,077.12, to meet which, a tax of $1,200 was voted by the 
citizens of the town. The State Appropriation for the year 



NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 157 

1840 (in(lci)eiuk'nt of the board's pro-rata sliare of the 
$700,000, for the schools of the commonwealth) was estimated 
at one dollar for each taxable inhabitant, the number being 
1767, producing $1,767. In this year 1850 it was but 
$1,015.16, a falling-off of $651.84. There was, however, a 
marked increase in teachers' salaries, the difference between 
1840 and 1850, in this item alone being $1,581.94. 

It is hardly to be presumed that a tax of three mills on the 
dollar, additional, was to receive public approbation without an 
accompanying statement presenting to the taxpayers a full and 
detailed account of the condition of the public schools. Possi- 
bly no more full presentation of their status than the following, 
was ever presented to the people of this city, namely : 

" To flic cifi:::ciis of Lancaster: 

" By a resolution of the Board of Directors of the Common 
Schools of the city, it was made the duty of the undersigned to 
lay before you the following statement of the general condition 
of the schools : 

" The whole population of the city, by the census recently 
completed is 12,382. Of this number 2,288 are supposed to 
be between the years of 6 and 14,, being the ages of those who 
usually attend school. The number of pupils at the present 
moment on the roll books of the city common schools is 1,837- 
being within 451 of the whole number of our youth between 6 
and 14; but if the names of all who attended school at any 
time during the past year were included, the number would be 
over 2,100. A large number of these 450 who are not in the 
common schools, are either at private institutions, or have been 
withdrawn from school for the purpose of learning trades. It 
is presumed that the number of those who are absent from 
school without being employed at all during the day, is small. 

" The figures show the gratifying fact that something over 
a full seventh of our population are now in the common schools, 
exclusive of those who have withdrawn to attend pay schools — 



158 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

a state of things supposed not to exist in many large towns of 
the Union, possessing the most perfect arrangements. 

" The expenses of the schools for the current year are esti- 
mated at $10,143.38. The cost of school lots, buildings and 
furniture belonging to the board is estimated at $18,000; the 
interest on which, at 6 per cent., being added to the ordinary 
annual expense makes the whole annual cost of the school sys- 
tem $11,235.28. The permanent debt of the board, incurred 
for purchasing lots and building houses is $8,649.36. The 
whole interest of this sum is regularly paid semi-annually out 
of the ordinary income of the board ; and about $400 of the 
principal is also either paid off annually, or that sum is applied 
each year out of the ordinary income, to the purpose of pur- 
chasing lots or building houses. 

" Of the ordinary income about $1,000 are derived from State 
appropriation, and the balance from tax. If the interest on 
the cost of lots, houses and furniture be added to the ordinary 
expenses (including interest on debt) the average cost of edu- 
cating each pupil for one year (except those in the night schools 
who will be taught only six months) is $6.1754- Without in- 
cluding interest on the cost of lots, etc., the cost is $5.53^ per 
pupil. 

" The schools are divided into three grades, viz. : Primary, 
Secondary or Grammar, and High ; there being an equal num- 
ber of each for each sex. The cost of instructing each pupil 
per annum in the primary schools is $14.25. In the night 
schools the cost per pupil for six months' instruction is esti- 
mated at $5.37>^. 

" There are seventeen primary schools including one African ; 
eight Grammar or Secondary, and two High. Of the 1,837 
pupils on the roll of all the schools, 1,514 is the number in the 
average attendance, showing 18 out of 100, or 9 out of 50, as 
the proportion of absence. This proportion, however, is greater 
in the lower than in the higher schools. 



NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 159 

" The whole luimher on the rolls of all the primary schools 
is 1,079; 'I'l*^! the average is 866; and the proportion of ahsence, 
20 out of 100. The whole number in Grammar schools is 
414; the average attendance 346, and the proportion of absence, 
is 16 out of 100. The number of High schools is two; the at- 
tendance 212; the average 189, and the proportitjn of absence 
is II out of 100. The number of seats in the night school is 
132 ; and the proportion of absence, 15 out of 100. The average 
age of pupils in this interesting school is 16 years and 10 
months. 

" The branches taught and course of instruction are as fol- 
lows : Pupils enter the primary schools and remain until they 
are good readers and spellers: have learned the tables and the 
four fundamental rules of arithmetic ; and have made good 
progress in writing on paper. They are then transferred to 
the grammar schools of the ward, where they study geography, 
English grammar, the history of the United States ; the whole 
of common arithmetic ; and are exercised in writing and com- 
position ; also some commence algebra. 

" In the high schools they receive geography, grammar and 
arithmetic ; and are regularly exercised in composition and 
declamation ; pursue the study of general history, and algebra, 
with the higher branches of mathematics, book-keeping and 
surveying; and study Latin and Greek, German or French, as 
their parents may direct. A regular course of instruction by 
means of lectures with apparatus will also be commenced in a 
few days in chemistry, natural philosophy, astronomy, geology 
and physiology. 

" This course of instruction, hereafter intended to be as 
thorough as far as it proceeds, will occupy each pupil about ten 
years, if he or she passes through the whole seven schools that 
constitute the series for each sex in each ward. One year in 
each of the four primary schools, wnll place pupils who com- 
mence the course at six years of age, in the grammar grade at 



160 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

ten ; three years' instruction in the grammar schools will fit 
them at 13 for the high schools ; and at the end of a three 
years' course in these, they ought at sixteen to be well pre- 
pared for any of the ordinary avocations of life, or if males, for 
entrance into the junior class of the most respectable college 
in the land. 

" The contrast between the cost of our common school edu- 
cation, and that heretofore here and now elsewhere obtained in 
wJiat are called select or pay schools, presents one of the most 
cheering features of the system. 

" The cost per quarter of the lowest A B C pay schools is 
$2.50, or $10 per annum ; $5 per quarter or $20 per annum in 
grammar schools ; and $10 per quarter or $40 per annum in 
what are called classical academies and the higher female semi- 
naries, without boarding. 

" The following would be the cost, at the present rates of 
educating 1,705 pupils (exclusive of 132 in the night schools) 
who are now in the various city common schools : 

" 1079 ill Primary schools, at $10 pr. an $10,790 

414 in Grammar schools, at $20 pr. an 8,280 

212 in High schools, at $40 pr. an 8480 

Total cost $27,550 

'* Cost of educating the saiue number in the common schools, 
including $1,080 interest on cost of lots, houses, etc., but ex- 
clusive of cost of night schools, $10,523.28. Difference in 
favor of common schools, $17,026.72. 

" But this vast saving of nearly two thirds of the aggregate 
cost of education is among the least important fruits of the sys- 
tem. When it is borne in mind not only that the kind of in- 
struction imparted is equal to that given in any institution we 
have ever had, and superior to most, for one third the cost, but 
that the common or free school system actually brings within 
the reach of this improved degree of culture at least three of 
our youth for every one who was thus reached before, the 



NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 161 

magnitude of the advantage becomes fully apparent, and pre- 
sents a motive which cannot be discarded, for renewed and 
continued efifort in support of the glorious cause. 

" A close examination of the progressive imjM-ovement of the 
schools during the past year, shows that the chief amendment 
has taken place in the high schools, which are now upon a good 
foundation as can, with our present knowledge and experience 
in such matters, be effected. Two or three years of faithful 
attention will probably make them all that the citizens desire. 
The only thing yet needed to make them the fitting crown of 
our system, is such an improvement and elevation of the lower 
schools, particularly those of the secondary or grammar class, 
as shall enable the latter to send to the high schools pupils of a 
higher and more thorough degree of preparation than those 
heretofore transferred. This will naturally claim the early at- 
tention of your representatives in the board. 

" In conclusion, the undersigned will take the liberty of over- 
stepping the strict line of duty assigned them, for the purpose 
of calling your attention, as parents, to two subjects, greatly 
calculated to promote the good of the schools : 

" One is the large proportion of absence from school still 
permitted by you. You are, it is admitted, the owners and 
controllers of your children's time. lUit is it not worthy of 
your serious inquiry, whether it is possible to make any better 
use of it than that of causing to be sedulously and regularly 
devoted to their mental and moral culture? Besides, it is per- 
fectly vain to expect any satisfactory degree of improvement, 
even under the most accomplished instructors, without regular 
attendance and study on the part of the learner. 

" The other is the small degree of interest which very many 
parents seem to feel in the welfare and actual operations of 
the schools. This should not be. Frequent visits to the 
schools by intelligent parents, made in friendly and right spirit, 
would not only act as a stimulus both to teachers and pupils, 
15 



162 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

but would probably obtaiu for the board many valuable sug- 
gestions, to which it would be their pleasure as well as duty to 
pay all proper attention. 

"Attest, George M. Steinman, President. 

John Zimmerman, Secretary.'" 

The above statement contains a vast amount of information 
that may serve as the basis for wdiat may follow during the in- 
coming half century of school board statistics. Taking the 
above as an object lesson, it should afiford a wide field for con- 
trast with conditions as we shall find them in the year 1904." 

We will observe further, as my story continues, that with an 
increased tax-rate are sure to come increased expenditures. A 
small surplus in the treasury is never allowed long to remain ; 
it was the rule years ago never to allow a fund, however small, 
to accumulate ; it is the rule to-day ; a lesson learned by the 
succeeding boards from their forefathers. The small balance 
of something over $1,000 in the treasury in 1850 would not 
be considered of much consequence at the present day, and yet, 
in those 'strenuous times when the Finance Committee figured 
by the quarter and half cents, a round thousand dollars in hand, 
no doubt made the board feel its financial importance. 

In this happy frame of mind, however, they could not long 
endure; for before the summer of 1850 had rolled by, Alex- 
ander H. Hood oiTered the following resolution, determined, as 
he no doubt was, to place the small balance where it might do 
the most good : 

" Whereas, The fact is well known that the expense of 
living has very materially increased during the past two years, 
the purchaser being compelled to pay higher prices for every 
article consumed than was paid at the time the present salaries 
of our teachers were fixed : And — 

"Whereas, Right and justice require that all persons en- 
gaged in the education of the youth, shall receive for their 



NEW SClfOOL CHARTER. 163 

labors a compcnsatiun in some degree suitable to tbc impor- 
tance of the work in which they are now engaged, and at least 
sufficient to enable them to make a decent appearance in society 
without being compelled to resort to other labor at the same 
time for the purpose of procuring their livelihood, Therefore, 
" Resolved, That after the expiration of the terms of the 
teachers in the employ of the board, or now engaged, the sala- 
ries of the teachers so employed, as well as the salaries of those 
who may hereafter be elected, shall be as follows : The com- 
pensation of those eight teachers who now receive $125 per 
annum shall be paid $160; those nine teachers in the primary 
schools, receiving $150, shall be paid $175 ; those four teachers 
in the highest primary schools who now receive $175, shall 
receive $200 ; the teacher in the African school now receiving 
$180 shall receive $190; the four secondary assistants in the 
secondary schools, now receiving $175, shall receive $210; the 
four second assistants now receiving $200 shall receive $220; 
those two principals of the two secondary schools, now receiv- 
ing $250, shall receive $262.50 ; the two assistants in the 
female high schools now paid $250, shall receive $275 ; one 
teacher now receiving $300, shall be paid $420 ; the two prin- 
cipals of the two secondary schools who now receive $450, shall 
receive $475 ; the two assistant teachers in the male high school, 
who are now paid $500, shall receive $525 ; the principal of the 
female high school instead of $600, shall be paid $700 ; the prin- 
cipal of the male high school, instead of $700, shall be paid 
$800, making the whole increase of teachers' compensation 
$1,200 per annum.'' 

The above resolution which was adopted without amend- 
ment, throws a flood of light on the meagre salaries paid teach- 
ers down to the time this measure was adopted. Previous to 
this slight increase the annual salary for female teaehers was 
about fifteen dollars per month, counting eleven months as the 
length of the school term. But even this schedule of compcnsa- 



164 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

tion was not long to endure, as the reader shall learn before 
another decade rolls by. Let the director then, who expects the 
average teacher to lay aside sufficient to provide against the 
vicissitudes of old age, out of even a somewhat larger monthly 
salary at the present day, reflect for a moment and ask himself, 
" Are the teachers of Lancaster paid proportionately the same 
compensation paid the other employes of the city ?" The ques- 
tion has often been asked, " Why the teachers of Lancaster in 
the early days, failed to establish a ' pension ' fund, the accu- 
nudation of which, in time, might have proven a blessing in 
disguise?" More pertinently, indeed, might the cjuery be put, 
" Why the Legislature, in appropriating millions upon millions 
for the support of free schools, has failed to set apart a fund 
annualh', the interest of which, in this year 1904, would be 
sufficiently large, to make the declining years of the teachers 
of the commonwealth less strenuous than they are at the pres- 
ent time ?" We know of but one of Lancaster's former teachers 
who is to-day in the enjoyment of a $600 annual pension. Leav- 
ing this city in 1866, she entered the profession of teaching in 
the city of Washington, retiring a year or two ago, on a yearly 
bounty, sufficient to provide against all future contingencies. 
In giving expression to these deep, settled convictions, the 
author has no apology to offer, believing they are shared by 
many of the more progressive members of the present Legisla- 
tive bodies. Time, however, will demonstrate whether the 
Legislature of this twentieth century, is to come to the rescue 
of the aged teacher with a pension law worthy of the name. 
However, to provide for the increase in salaries, under the reso- 
lution of Alexander H. Hood, it was — 

" Resolved, That for the school year commencing on the 
first Monday in June the school tax be apportioned as follows : 
First, a tax shall be levied on all and any posts of profit, profes- 
sions, trades and occupations, of thirty-seven cents on the hun- 
dred dollars of the assessed valuation thereof, as for state and 



NEW SCHOOL CHARTER. 165 

county purposes ; and on each single freeman over the age of 
twenty-one who does not follow any occupation — provided that, 
in none of the above cases the amount assessed shall be more 
than that assessed for state and county purposes, nor less than 
tifty cents. 

" Second, to make up the balance required for the support of 
the schools and the liabilities of the board during the year, a 
tax shall be assessed of thirty-seven cents on the hundred-dol- 
lars valuation of the property of the district, now taxable for 
state and county purposes." In the collection of this per capita, 
fifty cents school tax. varied, indeed, have been the experi- 
ences of the numerous tax-collectors since entrusted with this 
important duty. 

It will be observed later, as the story continues, that in all 
cities of the " Third Class " the city treasurer " shall be ex- 
officio school treasurer." This, however, does not apply to the 
city of Lancaster. According to the fifty-seventh section of the 
law, governing cities of the third class, it is provided, " That 
none of the provisions of this act shall be applicable to the 
election of directors or controllers of the public schools, to the 
organization of the school boards, to the election ^ school 
treasurer or of any other officer of said board, to the receiving 
and collection of school taxes in any city of the third class con- 
stituting one school district ; but the said school district shall 
be governed by laws heretofore enacted, applicable to the same, 
if the acceptance of this act, shall be accompanied by a certifi- 
cate from the school district, signed by the proper officers 
thereof, expressing its desire to retain the laws governing it 
independent of this statute, otherwise this act shall govern the 
same : And provided further. That it shall be lawful for such 
board, at its descretion, by a vote of its members as aforesaid, 
from time to time, to accept any of the provisions of this act 
regulating school matters, and after such acceptance, duly re- 
corded on the minutes of said board, said provisions so accepted 
shall be the law of said district." 



166 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

The author would be but anticipating coming events in set- 
ting forth all the provisions of the laws governing cities of the 
third class, providing as they do, for a school board of eighteen 
directors instead of thirty-six for this city, in addition to a 
controller, and other provisions that might or might not be con- 
ducive to the best interests of Lancaster city's local system of 
schools. 




REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 

Resolutions of respect to the Memory of President Taylor — Over- 
crowded Condition of Primary Schools — Rev. Samuel W. Drysdale 
Elected Principal of the Girls' High School— The Rev. John S. Crum- 
baugli in Charge of the P>oys' Department — First Common School Cele- 
bration — ^Examination of Teachers by James P. Wickersham, First 
County Superintendent — J. P. AlcCaskey Elected Principal of the Boys' 
High School — Reminiscence of the Night School on the Hill. 

It is still the nicniora])le year 1850. The gTcat majority of 
my readers will find themselves strangers in a strange land as 
they look upon this town of half a century ago. The handsome 
buildings which to-day stand facing our " SoUliers' Monu- 
ment " are nowhere to be seen ; those which stood in their 
places are of that quaint style to which only " the last leaf " of 
the older generation can bear witness. 

Let us then travel together down through this decade of 
years. Here we shall meet the familiar names if not the faces 
of those who have passed over the silent tide into rest. And 
if they are not here to meet us face to face, the evidence of their 
good deeds remain on every hand never to be efifaced, telling 
in silent syllables the simple story of passing events. 

Already preparations are being made for a new court house 
and a new prison of larger size to deal wnth those whom the 
schools have failed to reach. It no doubt seemed strange to 
the people of Lancaster that, with the yearly increasing num- 
ber of schools and the safeguards they threw around the 
young, a new prison should be deemed necessary. Yet few 
have regretted the removal from the corner of West King 
and Prince of the old " jail " with its chapter of brutal deeds 
committed by the " Paxton Boys." But the dismantling of the 
old court house has ever carried with it a feeling of regret. 

167 



168 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

The old landmark is recalled only by the faint outlines of the 
picture herein reproduced. 

Between the prison and the school there is a wide gap in 
the modern mind. The latter may be likened to a storehouse of 
supplies for the moral wants of the community. Yet this gran- 
ary is of little value unless its treasures are daily and hourly 
appropriated. Its contents are at all times within the reach of 
all, ready to be dealt out to those who seek them. It is a mis- 
taken idea to suppose that it is every and any kind of an edu- 
cation that can make men wise, moral and patriotic. Besides 
the school, and the church, other elements are necessary — the 
proper kind of domestic training, in which parents have so 
ample a share. Errors there are in education, and gross ones 
which years of laborious efforts have failed to eliminate. This 
cannot be denied. But they are nothing as compared with 
those of the world, which fosters political knavery, extrava- 
gance and a forgetfulness of those higher purposes which the 
schools of our city were ordained to perpetuate. Let the critic 
and the over-zealous, then, who are forever complaining that 
the public schools are not fulfilling their high destiny, not re- 
main forgetful of their own shortcomings in the discharge of 
their public duties as citizens. 

If the reader be generously disposed to overlook what may 
seem like an attempt on the part of the author to become a 
critic instead of a compiler, let us journey together through 
the streets of old Lancaster. Ah, here we are, strolling around 
in search of the school board's place of meeting. Like the lost 
tribes of the children of Israel, the directors, we learn, have ever 
been on the move. From the old court house to the Lancas- 
terian building, then to INIechanics' Hall, thence to the Female 
Seminary building; back again to the court house — ever and 
anon they went their weary way, until eventually they found 
permanent quarters in the '' State House " — the present city 
hall, wherein for years they have since held their stated 
meetings. 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 169 

It is the eleventh day of July — the Lancaster School Board 
is about to convene in a small room on the second floor of the 
court house. Before entering the court room, wherein so many 
legal battles have been fought by the giants of the Lancaster 
Bar in days gone by, we notice with surprise the primitiveness 
of the surroundings. Here are men moving- in among the 
sturdy farmers, bargaining for their winter's supi^ly of hickory, 
oak and chestnut, to be followed by old " Buckram," the one- 
legged " sawyer " with saw and saw-buck. 

We crowd our way through the busy, hurrying throng, bent 
on purchasing their weekly supply of marketable products from 
their thrifty country cousins — eggs, at six and a quarter cents 
per dozen — butter, at twelve and one half cents per pound, with 
other of life's necessaries in proportion. 

To the right, back of the circular railing, on an elevated plat- 
form sit the learned judges ; and immediately in front, the 
members of the Lancaster Bar — Thaddeus Stevens, John R. 
Montgomery, Reah Frazcr, James Buchanan, Col. George 
Ford, Thomas E. Franklin, William B. Fordney, and others of 
less note. 

Winding our way up the narrow stair, we arc informed by 
the obliging messenger, Alathias Zahm, " that the board has 
been summoned in special session to take action on the death 
of President Taylor who had departed this life on the ninth 
of the month." 

" What a change time hath wrought ! " we quietly suggest to 
the faithful messenger at the entrance. 

" Yes," comes his reply in his general way, " time has brought 
about many changes in the board as well as in the teaching 
force since the adoption of the system. Of those who entered 
the ranks in the year 1838, few remain. It's the turning of 
the wheel of life, the old gradually falling by the wayside. But 
it's the way of the world," he went on with a knowing twinkle 
of the eye ; " some must drop out, others as well fitted must 
take their places." 



170 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" Of course the system is well anchored and everything mov- 
ing with the precision of the hands of the old clock ? " came my 
question in a whisper, not wishing to disturb the deliberations 
of this august body. 

" Bless you, no ; there are still to be found lurking round 
a respectable opposition to the free school system. One man 
kicks because his neighbor's assessment is too low and his own 
too high. Another is forever grumbling over the teachers' 
salaries being out of all proportion to the wages paid to other 
employees of the city. But it's the old, old story, my friend, 
the same to-day it was a decade ago," said he as we enter the 
narrow enclosure. 

A moment later, Dr. John L. Atlee rises to his feet, and after 
a few appropriate remarks, ofifers the following preamble and 
resolution, which are unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, It has pleased Divine Providence to take out 
of the Nation, General Zachary Taylor, late President of the 
United States this board is anxious to testify its sense of the 
national calamity, and its estimation of the personal and public 
worth of the illustrious deceased : 

" Rcsok'cd, That we adjourn to meet with our fellow citizens 
in the court room below, in adopting such measures as may be 
deemed proper to the occasion." 

Retracing our steps down the winding stair, we enter the 
court room in time to hear the reading of the resolutions of 
respect paid to the memory of the deceased. The deliberations, 
however, are of short duration ; for as the Trinity bell tolls out 
the solemn requiem, the procession starts. We fall into line, 
catching an occasional glimpse of three of Lancaster's most 
revered citizens — the Rev. Father Keenan, the Rev. Samuel 
Bowman and the beloved John C. Baker, as arm in arm they 
move toward the spacious church edifice where the services are 
to be held. 

A moment later, the Rev. Baker enters the pulpit, with the 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRLLMBAUGII. 171 

Rev. I5o\vnian on his right and ]'"atlier Kccnan on his left. 
And what a sermon! How the heart thrills with emotion as we 
sit and listen to the solemn words fallin"- from the lips of this 
ever-to-be remembered pastor of Trinity, whose hearty grasp 
of the hand always made a bo}- feel that life was worth living. 
Reverting once more to the pages of the old minute books, 
each bearing the impress of time, imagine if you can, dear 
reader, the condition of many of the schools in 1850. It was 
Dr. Burrowes, who, at this May meeting, offered the following : 

" Whereas, there are now one hundred and five [iupils in 
the school of Miss Viola Miller, to do justice to whicli number 
is out of the power of any teacher. And 

"Whereas, it is the duty incumbent on the board to pro- 
vide ample means for the instruction of all the children that 
apply for admission into the schools, especially those of the 
lower grades, where habits of idleness and carelessness of study 
are most easily acquired. Therefore, 

" Rcsok'cd, That this board will proceed forthwith to the 
election of an additional teacher to be placed in Miss Miller's 
room, who shall take charge of one half of the children therein, 
as a separate school.'' 

The older directors of the present board can readily appre- 
ciate what " congestion " means when applied to the over- 
crowded condition of our schools prior to and during the 
second era of school-house building. Fifty children would 
seem to be an ample sufficiency for any one teacher. But to 
crowd into a single room, one hundred and five children, even 
with two teachers in the same room, was more than enough to 
exhaust the patience and physical endurance, not only of the 
instructors in charge, but of the pupils themselves. This con- 
dition, as the minutes will show, was not long to endure ; for, 
in the latter part of 1850 several important changes occurred. 
The boys' high school was removed from the Presbyterian Ses- 
sion house, at the corner of Cherry and Market — and the girls'. 



172 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

from the Seminary building, near the corner of Prince and 
Orange — to the Lancasterian school house. 

At the September meeting Rev. John C. Baker presented the 
report of the " Examining Committee," recommending the 
Rev. Samuel W. Drysdale, as " suitable person for principal of 
the female high school, with Miss Christie Alusser first, and 
Miss Maria E. Gill second assistant." which recommendations 
were unanimously adopted. 

During the following year, until August, 1851, much uncer- 
tainty prevailed among the members over the election of a 
principal for the boys' high school in place of Mr. Becker. It 
was at this meeting that the Rev. John S. Crumbaugh was 
elected principal, Mr. Coates reelected teacher of the English, 
and Mr. Colburn of the mathematics department. TwO' years 
later, at the meeting of August, 1853, a young man, by name 
Elnathan Elisha Higbee, was elected professor of mathematics, 
in place of Mr. Colburn — a position he held for several years 
to the entire satisfaction of the board. For two years, or until 
July, 1853, John S. Crumbaugh continued as principal of the 
boys' high school, placing it on a plane it had never before 
attained. It was at this meeting that he handed in his resigna- 
tion, whereupon Professor W. V. Davis, who had been elected 
at the February meeting previous as the successor of Mr. 
Coates, was made principal. 

Before entering into the life and character of this truly good 
man, John S. Crumbaugh, it may be said that at the close of his 
short but magnificent career as principal, the board gave ex- 
pression of its deep sense of gratitude for services rendered, 
in the following resolution : 

" Resolved, That in separating from the Rev. John S. Crum- 
baugh, who for the past two years has filled the station of Prin- 
cipal of the Boys' High School — this board feels a due sense 
of his services, and hereby express their thanks for the able, 
impartial and dignified manner in which they were at all times 
performed." 



COMMON SCHOOL 

C ELEBRATIO N. 

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1854. 

..I 111. •[.■•'■ .-.•.. •• :(..r. »(JI 

START IN PILOnESHiniff JEEQKLTHETR SCHOOL ROOM, 

Bimm TO FOLTOi B/iLL, 






:,l th..- -l,,,ll l»' 



Il.|- 



Mtrsio 

NATIONAL HYMN. BY PUPILS. 

Mhm k ll)f ^.Mifiiia. liii I. T. iMiiirLi. i-'j\\. 

MUSIC 

"Onr Cuuntr} tui.I iu Ii ' . . W M \ lilM'NKMAS 

On EiiurmliiMi, . . .hlll\ ^ •-ll(lH!:il 

Ho.'vi.; ■!> iiii. I'li'ii.s (<»nni':.^«;i';.ni':'«T rnoRiH. 

■fc. -Til.. KuMianIl.nr.' liisiril \MKl: 

*:■ '■.Jn.k lloKiiiiifji. Dr.aiii i;|)\\i\ M IlllKlMi 

Ho\ti iiv Till-; i»rrii.- "•«n r m stir ih »»T»;Ai,i^«i. 

Th. !\ii- ■■( W.i -l' Kliili'i CKKV. 

■■ i>,i !(,,. 11,.,:, WILLIAM ('Al;s()N 

•«o^^. 11% nil i-i i-ii,'. iiu *T»!: si>»\«.i,i,i» hi'V\»:r. 

■ V I \ • ,lolt\ r M.<\.--KKY 



I 



MU BIC 



.K'lUia. \l MKIN- 



so\<. lit Tilt. I'i I'll,* nil, SI IIDOI. KOOTI. 

IN ^Dl»li^:^^ l!V J. p. HKhLltMllM. ((ilVTS SI PKIUMK^DEXT. 



^liTlii SOii B¥ in 



M.USIO 

n V. N f: Dici' If) N 




DlPXDDiXii 



^c\)eoU*«^%%J/rf^* 




!^Di:iii:ijf]ir;y^\iT]j or p^iijidYi V;\/jja. 



%) uirluf flf null)iiiili) in lljf ^tjuri'i of liirrriorii lu-stci), it is 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 173 

Never in the history of the Lancaster schools has a more 
ilatteriiig- testimonial been given, nor to a teacher more deserv- 
ing. For a year or two thereafter he served the board in the 
capacity of director, as well as he had served them as teacher, 
until Mr. Wickersham's resignation from the office of County 
Superintendent of Schools in 1856, when he was appointed his 
successor. This position he held until the winter of 1859 when 
declining health compelled him to resign. Mr. Crumbaugh 
lived but a short time after his retirement, passing away in his 
twenty-seventh year. His life was a short one, and yet it was 
an inspiration, a life not measured by years. 

The members of the Lancaster Alumni Association, whose 
naiues appear in the appendix, and more particularly those who 
received their diplomas in the year 1854 — the first ever issued 
by the Lancaster School Board — will note a facsimile pro- 
gramme of the first " Common School Celebration," or what in 
later years was to be designated " Commencement Day Exer- 
cises." Beneath that containing the " Evening Exercises " is 
a reproduction of a beautiful vignette, executed gratuitously 
by a Philadelphia artist. Those fortunate enough to hold one 
of these diplomas issued before 1876, when the boys' and girls' 
high school was erected on West Orange street, will have no 
trouble in recognizing it. The author is indebted to Rev. 
Samuel W. Reigart, a former principal of the boys' high 
school, for the " Announcement " from which the plates were 
made. In appearance it was not unlike a bill of sale, being 
over a yard in length and a foot in width, with the various 
exercises most attractively set forth. 

The morning and evening exercises of this " Common School 
Celebration " were held in Fulton Hall, June 30, 1854, and 
while the Rev. Crumbaugh was no longer principal of the boys' 
high school, he addressed the students of both schools as a 
member of the Lancaster School Board, having taken his seat 
at the meeting previous. 
16 



174 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

Although there may have been classes graduated from these 
respective schools for several years previous, no record has been 
preserved ; the following" graduates being" the first to receive 
diplomas, namely. Miss Sallie M. Steinman, Miss Catharine 
Long, Miss Julia Segan, Miss Clara Reigart, George M. Frank- 
lin, Thomas H. Burrowes, Thomas Dunlevy, Samuel W. 
Reigart, now the Rev. Samuel W. Reigart, Salsbury, Md., 
Samuel C. Walker, J. F. Stoeck, Neilson A. Baldwin, William 
Montgomery, and John Heitshu. On the above-named thir- 
teen, seven live to recall the far-off days of fifty years ago. 

If entire harmony prevailed at the Common School celebra- 
tion, it was but the forecast of a storm, which came at the July 
meeting following, when this resolution was passed by the 
board : 

"Resolved, That the County Superintendent be requested to 
examine all the teachers in the employ of the Board, and all 
new applicants, to enable them to be candidates for election as 
teachers." 

This announcement naturally fell upon the ears of the teach- 
ers like a shock from an exploding cannon. So c[uietly had 
this resolution been passed, that its conflict with the prior act 
of 1850, was not discovered until too late to prevent its being 
carried into eft'ect. If allowed to rest for a time, it was only 
for a short time. The opposition, while beaten by a small 
majority, were not disposed to bow in humble submission to 
what they considered a flagrant violation of the Lancaster city's 
sacred rights. This will more fully appear when the conflict 
of authority between the board and two of its most prominent 
teachers is considered. 

As the day approached for the examination announced by 
Mr. Wickersham, the new County Superintendent, the most 
intense excitement prevailed among the rank and file of the 
teachers. With the Superintending Committee they plead the 
statute of limitations, but all to no purpose. Many a sleepless 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 175 

night was spent in rnmmag'ing throng-h old text-books in 
search of answers to such questions as might be propounded 
by the " Czar of the County." As the newer education was 
coming into vogue, with all sorts of " trimmings," it is not 
surprising that pandemonium should reign among the teach- 
ers, many of whom had been teaching so long that they had 
forgotten how to be students. To stand before the Superin- 
tending Committee, perhaps once in a lifetime, and be asked 
a few common-place questions by such kindly disposed com- 
mitteemen as Dr. Atlec or the Rev. John C. Baker, could be 
tolerated. But to face the new county official, with all his sup- 
posed new methods, covering, as they had been led to suppose, 
every conceivable subject in the broad domain of education, 
was quite another matter. At their local institutes many of 
the new England methods had been discussed, only to be thrust 
aside as ill-adapted to the schools of Lancaster city. How- 
ever, as the darkest hour is just before the dawn, so the dark- 
est moment for the Lancaster teachers was, when they, after a 
sleepless night, with hearts palpitating, entered the Lancaste- 
rian school building. For the trying ordeal was soon over and 
all went merrily homeward carrying with them their first 
certificates. 

Thus ended the first public teachers' examination ever held 
in the city of Lancaster under the County Superintendent. 
Trying as it was to many, it proved in the end a happy solution 
to a very troublesome question, relieving as it did the Superin- 
tending Committee from a duty they were not always qualified 
to perform. That there was a marked contrast between the 
former course of examining and that of the County Superin- 
tendent, will prove all the more apparent when it is stated that 
frequently some " literary " personage was summoned to assist 
the Superintending Committee in ascertaining the erudition of 
the applicant, especially if he represented himself a college 
graduate. On one occasion mention is made in the commit- 



176 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

tee's report of having called to their assistance Daniel Kirk- 
wood and Dr. William Atlee. The report reads, " That they 
have examined William Shilland, a graduate of Union Col- 
lege, but lately a teacher in Carlisle, this state, as applicant for 
the male secondary school ; that they have also examined Mr. 
S. C. Crumbaugh of Maryland, but this year a graduate of Mar- 
shall College, Mercersburg; also a Mr. Kow, a native of Stras- 
burg township, this county, who has been engaged in teaching 
nine years, and at present an assistant in White Hall Academy, 
Cumberland county ; a Mr. Dare, also a native of this county, 
who has taught five years, one of which was in an academy ; 
and Mr. Charles Twining, a native of New York, who has 
taught five years, and now resides in Hempfield township. 
The committee," continues the report, " on due reflection, are 
of the opinion that these gentlemen are cjualified for the station 
in question, and arrange them in the order of their qualifica- 
tion, as follows : first, Mr. Amos Row ; second, Mr. Charles 
Twining ; third, Mr. E. O. Dare ; fourth, Mr. S. C. Crumbaugh ; 
fifth, Mr. Alexander Shilland. All these gentlemen are young 
and profess their desire to engage in the ' business ' of teach- 
ing permanently ; they also produced satisfactory references as 
to good moral character." 

When Mr. Crumbaugh succeeded Mr. Wickersham in the 
office of superintendent in 1856, he received the same instruc- 
tions as had been given his predecessor, " to visit all the schools, 
in addition to his duties as examiner." The welcome he re- 
ceived can best be appreciated by the following resolution 
ofifered by President Steinman, " That a vote of censure be 
taken on Messrs. Davis and Drysdale, principals of male and 
female high schools, for refusing to recognize the Rev. John 
S. Crumbaugh, County Superintendent, in his visit to said 
schools." 

It was therefore resolved as a compromise " that the inclu- 
sion of this city within the jurisdiction of the County Superin- 




JOHN PIERSOL McCASKEY. 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 177 

tendent of Lancaster county in all respects, is not inconsistent 
with the local school law of this city, passed January second, 
1850, but that the same is in full accord with the spirit of that 
act of the general school law of 1854." 

This resolution being adopted by a narrow margin, served 
only to divide the board into two irreconcilable forces, the effect 
of which division has been felt at intervals down to the present 
day. The refusal of the two ])rincipals to recognize the Super- 
intendent's visit had in no way been intended as a personal 
act of discourtesy ; but as a denial of his official authority of 
jurisdiction. It was, as all must acknowledge, a step which 
no teacher is justifiable in taking without the sanction of the 
board or its superintending committee. 

Out of this action of the Board came further trouble : A 
memorial, signed by the teachers, opposing this official as an 
examining officer, reached the president. This provoked a 
bitter discussion on the legal points involved, which filled sev- 
eral pages of the minute book. On the one side was Alexan- 
der H. Hood, bringing to bear all his powerful argument ; on 
the other, Thomas H. Burrowes, equally well versed in this 
enactment, of \yhich he was no doubt the author. As the board 
upheld the law of 1854, and likewise Mr. Burrowes in the 
position he assumed, ]\Ir. Hood handed in his resignation. So 
ended, for the time being, an acrimonious discussion, a repeti- 
tion of which the reader may not be surprised to witness in 
even a more intensified form during years later. 

In the year 1855, a young man who had been a student in 
the boys' high school the year previous, and whose name ap- 
pears as one of the speakers at the Commencement Exercises 
in Fulton Hall in 1854, was recommended by Principal Davis 
for a position as teacher in this same school. John Piersol 
IMcCaskey was duly elected second assistant. For nearly half 
a century this then modest, unassuming young student, now 
nearing his three score and ten, has served in the capacity of 



178 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

teacher and principal of the boys' high school. Of all the 
instructors who entered the Lancasterian building during the 
early fifties, he alone remains at his post of duty. And of the 
hundreds of boys upon whose ears fell words of appreciation 
or reproof from this noble man, who is there that has not a 
kindly word for " Jack " McCaskey ? Indeed, the very men- 
tion of his name is sure to awaken responses of afifectionate 
regard in the hearts of those who, in years gone by, sat under 
the magnetic power of his broad, manly nature. 

During the years of 1865 and 1866, we labored together in 
that trying field of child development, the " boys' night school 
on the hill." And rich, indeed, was the prospect among the 
boys whose only opportunity of seeking an education was under 
the light of the " gas jets." They were earnest young souls 
who after a hard day's toil eagerly drank from that larger life. 
In spite of hard conditions, they cheerfully accepted their lot 
and entered upon their duties with a signal ability and high 
purpose that would have reflected honor upon the most tal- 
ented of our citizens. 

In these night school boys, of whom so little is ever spoken, 
we have an abiding faith. Too much credit cannot be given 
the night school committees and the teachers, who faithfully 
give encouragement to these patient boys and girls. 

In conversing with a former night school lad, now one of 
Lancaster's prominent business men, he casually remarked as we 
separated, " Do you still remember Zeke, the ' bean-thrower ?' " 
This slight reminder of the days of forty years ago, vividly 
recalled to memory, a tall, thin, shaiubling, rawboned figure 
of a young fellow well up in his teens. His face was long and 
lean, its most prominent features being its great nose, diverted 
by nature slightly to one side and flanked by a tremendous pair 
of cheekbones. A grinning smile, showing a set of pearly- 
white teeth ; long bony arms, with long bony hands ; a long 
lank lean body, a loose pair of pedal extremities, with a pair 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMP.AUGH. 179 

of rawhide boots, extending" well up in the direction of his 
" intellectuals "' ; a cheery voice bubbling up from the vast 
depths below — this is a description given by one of Zeke's bosom 
companions who, in the midst of many of his escapades, stood 
loyally by his side in the hour of his greatest need. 

On one particular occasion, now vividly recalled as Hallow- 
e'en, all went along in the usual manner until the hour for dis- 
missal came ; the pens and copy books were being gathered up ; 
the principal in charge of the study hall stood ready with bell 
in hand to tap for the first column to move, w hen lo ! a shower 
of white soup beans went soaring over the heads of teachers 
and pupils landing against the window panes like a shower 
of hail in midsummer. A moment later the principal exclaimed 
in a determine*] tone, " Will the young man who threw the 
beans please come forward?" No response. Again and again 
the summon was repeated, but the culprit, whoever he was, sat 
with the others the very picture of stolid indifference. " Boys," 
added the master in charge, " Take your own time ; this school 
will here remain until the bean-thrower steps forward." 
Another half hour passed, as innocence sat depicted on the 
countenances of the hundred or more half-sleepy lads. At 
last, as the hands of the old clock told the hour when all night 
school boys should have been sleeping the sleep of the " inno- ' 
cent," came, from a remote corner, a sciueaking voice, " Zeke, 
threw the beans!" A moment later, a hundred eyes were cen- 
tered on the now disconsolate informer, as Ezekiel stood before 
the school with trousers jammed into the upper portion of a 
pair of long-legged rawhides, the very picture of injured inno- 
cence. , 

" Young man, did you throw the beans?" to which came the 
prompt rejoinder, " No, sir, I did not!" Under ordinary cir- 
cumstances, this prompt reply might have served its purpose ; 
but there was a certain something in the young man's ex- 
pression, if not in his peculiar accent, combined with a knowing 



180 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

twinkle of the eye, tliat betrayed a g-nilty conscience. " Take 
a seat and empty your pockets," came in even a sterner voice, 
when out came a barlow knife, a few horse-shoe nails, a half- 
dozen broken slate pencils, an apple core or two, that had 
found lodgment therein, when the danger of detection became 
most imminent ; the beans, however, were nowhere in evi- 
dence among the conglomerated mixture of odds and ends. 
Up to this trying moment, the young prevaricator had weath- 
ered the storm, and stood ready to return to his seat to deter- 
mine upon the proper course of treatment to be administered 
to the young scapegrace who had violated one of the unwritten 
laws which was held sacred by the average night school boy, 
never to "peach " on a school comrade, when, to his chagrin, 
again came, now, in a half-sleepy, drawling tone, " He's got 
'em in-his b-o-o-t-s !"' " Off with your rawhides !" came the 
order of command, as the guilty offender of the majesty of law, 
sat wriggling and twisting, now jerking at this then at the 
other of the rawhides with little hope of success. There being 
no boot-jack within hailing distance, it became necessary, as 
the only way out of the dilemma, to summon the informer in 
relieving the young man of his personal property which, having 
previously become water-soaked, stuck to the feet of the owner 
closer than the majority of boys to the now unfortunate Zeke. 
For five long minutes the peacher jerked and twisted, first at 
the one, then at the other, while Zeke sat twisting and screwing 
his toes into an india-rubber ball, imbued with the idea no doubt 
that self-preservation was the first law of a night-school boy's 
nature. At last, after many fruitless eft'orts, oft' came the 
long-legged rawhides, and with them, a full pint of pearly, 
white soup beans. By this time the school was in an uproar of 
merriment. Ten minutes later, the boys were dismissed, with 
the admonition to Zeke, " Gather up the beans, my boy ; take 
them home and store them away for the early spring planting." 
As the young man, years after, became a truck-gardener, it is 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 181 

only reasonable to assume that this supply of white soup beans 
furnished him with his first stock in trade. Zeke, it may be 
said was ever after a favorite in the school, and as he did not in- 
tend to condone the wrong, his informer was compelled to pay 
the penalty for his rashness in more than one scrimmage near 
the school on the hill. 

It will be recalled that at the meeting of September, 1850, 
Rev. Walter S. Drysdale was elected principal of the girls' 
high school, and that on the retirement of John S. Crumbaugh 
from the principalship of the boys' high school, July, 1853, W. 
V. Davis was elected his successor. Nothing of unusual im- 
portance occurred in these respective schools until the meeting 
of July first, 1858, when Dr. Atlee, of the Superintending Com- 
mittee, presented the following- report: 

" Resolved, That it is expedient to dispense with the services 
of a male principal of the female high school ; and that here- 
after the male and female department of the high schools, shall 
be under the superintendence of the principal of the male high 
school who, with the approbation of the Superintending Com- 
mittee shall make such arrangements with the assistant teachers 
of the female high school as will be most conducive to its 
efficiency." This resolution having been adopted, considerable 
discussion arose over the reelection of Mr. Davis, as principal 
of both schools. At the adjourned meeting a week later Mr. 
Davis was declared elected principal of the boys' high school, 
Seymour Preston first, and Samuel C. Walker, second assist- 
ant, for the ensuing year. Leaving the principalship formerly 
filled by Rev. Drysdale, vacant, Miss Christie Musser was 
elected first. Miss Maria E. Gill, second, and Miss Mary W. 
Russel, third assistant, of the girls' department. 

In this somewhat anomalous condition, the boys' and girls' 
high schools were allowed to remain until the August meeting 
of i860, when the resolution of 1858, providing for a prin- 
cipal of both schools, was recinded. Samuel W. Reigart, a 



182 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

former principal of a secondary school, was duly elected prin- 
cipal of the male high school, Seymour Preston, first, and J. P. 
McCaskey (who had been out of the profession a year) elected 
second assistant. For principal of the female department, Miss 
Christie Musser was promoted from the position of first assist- 
ant she had previously held in this same school. For first and 
second assistants, Miss Annie Hartman and Miss Marv W. 
Russel were respectively elected. 

For many years these schools managed to drift along in a 
way little calculated to receive the endorsement of ]ml)lic 
approval. With the meeting of July, 1865, came the resigna- 
tion of Samuel W. Reigart as principal of the boys' high 
school, which was accepted and the president authorized " to 
tender Mr. Reigart the thanks of the board for services as 
principal of the boys' high school." It was thereupon 

" Resok'cd, That a committee of seven, consisting of the 
President and Secretary, two members of the Superintending 
Committee, one member of the Book Committee, one member 
of the Finance Committee, and one member of the Property 
Committee be appointed whose duty it shall be to report to 
this board a plan for reorganization of the high schools of the 
city with the probable cost thereof. The committee comprised 
the following : John W. Jackson, John L. Atlee, J. Pj. Living- 
ston, W. R. Wilson, D. W. Patterson, H. S. Gara and Newton 
Lightner. At the meeting of August following it was 

" Resok'cd, That the high schools be placed under a male 
principal at a salary of $1,000, assisted by two assistants of 
each sex in either school, at the same salaries respectively as 
have been paid the teachers of these schools for the last year." 
The following assistant teachers were then elected : For male 
department, J. P. McCaskey, first, and James P>. Kremer, second 
assistant. For the female department. Miss Christie Musser, 
first, and Miss Sarah Bundell, second assistant. 

At the September meeting ensuing, Dr. Atlee reported " that 



THE REV. JOHN S. CRUMBAUGH. 183 

the Superintc'iulint^- C'oiiiniittee had received several a])|)Hcations 
for the position of principal of the high schools and that the 
County Superintendent had appointed the nineteenth inst. for 
the examination of applicants." It was then resolved that the 
Superintending" Committee be directed to advertise in the 
" New York Weekly Tribune " and the " Phila(leli)hia Home 
Weekly " for a principal of the high schools. 

At the regular meeting of June, 1866, the following resolu- 
tion was adopted : 

"Resolved, That the high schools continue in their present 
state until otherwise ordered, unless the board shall deem it 
expedient to make some change in the teaching force of the 
female department." At the meeting of October, 1867, Mr. 
Wilson of the Superintending Committee reported that he had 
" caused to be inserted in the two daily papers of Lancaster 
and the ' Public Ledger ' of Philadelphia, an advertisement, 
as per instruction of the board for a second assistant of the 
male high school, in place of Brainard Kremer who had re- 
signed. The following gentlemen were placed in nomination : 
B. F. Shaub, R. A. Townsend, Christian Champneys, William 
R. Bates, John Conroy, and G. W. Guthrie, resulting in the 
election of Mr. Townsend. 

On the twenty-second of July, 1869, an adjourned meeting 
of great importance was held for the election of teachers for 
the ensuing year. Air. McCaskey was unanimously elected 
principal, Mr. Townsend, first assistant of the boys' high school. 
For the girls" department. Miss Sarah H. Bundell was elected 
principal, and Miss Sarah Powers, first assistant. At the 
September meeting of this year the declination of Mr. Town- 
send was received and accepted, and a vote of thanks extended 
him for the faithful manner he had discharged his duties during 
the two years while in the employ of the Board." To fill the 
vacancy thus created, Mr. James C. Gable was elected, a posi- 
tion he has continuously held with marked ability down to the 



184 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

present time. At the meeting; of Angust, 1877, Miss Maria 
E. Gill was elected second assistant in the girls' high school, 
a position she had formerly held. A year later, Miss R. F. 
Jackson was elected first assistant in place of Miss Sarah H. 
Powers resigned, a position she has held continuously for 
twenty-six years. In 1884, ]\Iiss Mary Martin was elected 
second assistant in the boys' high school, where she has re- 
mained continuously for more than a score of years to the 
great satisfaction of the community. In addition, to the 
foregoing Mr. James L. Merrill was for a short time principal 
of both schools, as was also Mr. Frederick Gast temporarily 
employed in the boys' high school. 

In concluding this somewhat lengthy chapter, it may be said 
that only after the most diligent search and research oftentimes 
among hastily written minutes of the Lancaster School Board's 
proceedings, has the compiler succeeded in laying before the 
reader the evolution of the Lancaster High Schools during 
the sixty-seven years of their existence. Having anticipated 
to some extent the trend of my story, the author may now be 
compelled to go back to the board's earlier proceedings in order 
to complete the narrative in chronological order. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 

Dr. Burrowes expounds the New Educational Doctrine — First 
Teachers Society Organized in tliis City in 1852 — Normal School for 
Lancaster, Proposed by Rev. John S. Crunihaugh — Resgnation of Rev. 
John C. Baker — An Incident in his Life — Recollections of Samuel O. 
Nourse, the Schoolmaster on the "Hill" — Also of Rev. Walter S. 
Drysdale — The Young High Scliool Graduate. 

There are times when it would be impossible to follow each 
year's events as they occurred without encroaching on facts 
and incidents which lie beyond the reader's immediate interest. 
So mttch occitrred dtiring the fifties, aside from the election of 
teachers and the erection of new school houses, as to remind 
the author that what at the beginning- seemed like a labor of 
love, has become an endless task. 

It was in the year 1851 that Dr. lUnTowcs so forcibly ex- 
pounded the underlying principles of the new educational doc- 
trine, in the Lancaster School Board, and at educational meet- 
ings here and elsewhere, on the vital question of the school 
system, its past defects and future possibilities. A year later 
he offered a resolution in the Board, creating the first " City 
Teachers' Association " for this city, with all proper means 
for professional preparation and improvement. This may be 
said to have been the initial step, leading to the organization 
of the " Lancaster County Teachers' Association," which met 
in Fulton Hall during the winter of 1854 ; and which has 
been in successful operation continuously for over half a 
century. 

Speaking of institutes, the author has had a chance to 
examine the minute book of the first " Teachers' Society " ever 
organized in the city of Lancaster under the free school sys- 
tem. A few extracts from the preamble and resolutions 

185 



186 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

adopted September 30, 1852, governing- this local society are 
herein presented as showing the interest manifested in educa- 
tion from 1852 until 1858, when the society was dissolved. 

" Fully sensible to the great benefits to be derived from 
organized efiforts for mutual improvement, and believing that 
much good will redound to the several schools committed to 
our care by an interchange of opinion and the views relative to 
studies and school government : And further, that the business 
of teaching may be relieved of some of its most unpleasant 
features by united effort, and convenient and successful means 
of communication with the Board of School Directors be thus 
established — we whose names are hereto affixed, do recognize 
the following Articles of our Constitution." 

Omitting the seven articles as not material, we give the 
names of the teachers as signed to the constitution and by- 
laws, as follows : Mary W. Russel, Christie Musser, M. E. 
O'Donald, Mary A. Brooke, Catharine Wingert, Mary Boyd, 
Anna S. Eberman, L. Viola Miller, Catharine Eberman, Susan 
Smith, H. C. Mayers, Emma Benner, Walter S. Drysdale, E. 
E. Higbee, E. A. Gillespie, Henrietta Hoffmeier, Mary Diller, 
A. L. Smith, Delia White, Mrs. Margaret Mailey, Margaret 
Markee, Henrietta Cromwell, Margaret Samson, Maria E. 
Gill, W. V. Davis, A. Row, Charles Twining, Seymour Pres- 
ton, Sarah W. Vogdes, Helen C. Walker, Adelia Hazard, Mar- 
gie Miller, Margaret White, Lizzie Samson, S. B. Kieffer, S. 
E. Musser, A. F. Mengel, W. M. Moore, Mary A. Davis, E. 
R. Keift'er, Annie E. Rakestraw, Rosa Voigt, Parthenia Rath- 
von, Alice White, Frank E. Andrews, Mary L. Andrews, Har- 
riet Kennedy, M. Jeffries, M. G. W. Maxwell, I. Newton 
Pierce, Emanuel J. Erisman, S. (). Nourse. 

The above names, representing the whole teaching force in 
Lancaster in the year 1852, will recall to the few yet living 
the recollections of those far-off days before the annual city 
teachers' institute of a week's duration was ever thought of. 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 187 

Many an interesting episode might be related of this band of 
good Samaritans, each imbued with the educational spirit of the 
times of which they were the pioneers, did space permit. We 
may, however, (juotc from the minutes of the various meetings 
what may seem most interesting and instructive, without vio- 
lating any of the rules by which this society was governed. 

At the first meeting after the organization. President Drys- 
dale read the following communication from the Board of 
School Directors, which was ordered to be placed on the 
minutes : 

"First, Resolved, That the President of the Board be re- 
quested to acknowledge a communication from Secretary Row, 
informing this Board of the formation of a Teachers' Institute 
among the teachers of the common schools of this city, and to 
inform him that such a course meets the approbation of this 
Board, and that they will cheerfully cooperate with them in 
such matters as may conduce to the welfare and improvement 
of the schools. 

"Second, Resolved, That the Board expects every teacher 
in their employ to become a member of the City Teachers' 
Institute, and adopt all proper means for professional prepara- 
tion and improvement. 

" Third, Resolved, That the Superintending Committee as- 
signs such of the rooms belonging to the Board, as may be 
most suitable, to the Teachers' Association for their meetings, 
and that fuel and light be supplied at the expense of the 
Board. 

" Fourth, Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be fur- 
nished by the Secretary to the presiding officer of the Teachers' 
Association, and to each teacher not now a member, if any. 

" Attest, John Zimmerman, 

" Secretary." 

On motion. President Drysdale was requested to appoint a 
17 



188 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

committee of three " to solicit from each director three books 
for the use of the Teachers' Library, connected with the 
Teachers' Society." 

Following came an address by Professor Davis on the school 
system of Prussia and Glasgow in Scotland, showing wherein 
their system of instruction differed from that in vogue in this 
country. Rev. Drysdale followed with a paper on the use of 
the Bible in the public schools ; after which a committee was 
appointed to report on the modus operandi of the New Eng- 
land schools, showing to what extent the schools of Lancaster 
differed in their educational features from those of the Eastern 
States. 

A general discussion then followed : first, on the most effec- 
tive means of abolishing " tobacco chewing " in the schools, 
and the deleterious effects resulting from so filthy a habit 
among the half-grown boys of the schools ; second, the proper 
use of the rod; third, the best use to be made of the public 
library ; fourth, whether or not children should be required to 
pronounce each syllable separately when spelling orally ; fifth, 
the best methods of teaching geography according to Naylor's 
system or on Pelton's outline maps ; sixth, practical illustra- 
tions in teaching grammar and arithmetic with special refer- 
ence to the single and double rule of three, and other topics 
of like import. 

Before adjournment the following resolution was read, dis- 
cussed and finally unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, The common schools of this city would be much 
improved by a more systematic arrangement of studies, and as 
the present is a favorable time for the introduction of such 
arrangement ; therefore, 

'' Resolved, That a committee of ten be appointed, who shall 
report a division of the school year into three periods, and 
recommend the studies for each, for reference to the Superin- 
tending Committee, and that this shall be done so that certain 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 189 

prog^ress shall be ensured during the three years' course in the 
primary department before the transfer of pupils into the sec- 
ondarw and in the sccimdar}- during' the three years before 
the transfer of pupils into the High Schools." 

Following the adoption of the above resolution came an- 
other : 

" Whereas, Irregularity of attendance upon the exercises 
of the schools seriously interferes with the progress of the 
pupils, and makes even the best system of instruction of no 
avail ; that as an evil of magnitude, this claims our special 
notice, and it becomes our duty to represent to the Board of 
Directors of Common Schools of Lancaster as needing a speedy 
remedy ; therefore, 

" Rcsoh'cd, That a committee of five be appointed who shall 
prepare the way for properly bringing the matter before the 
Board, in the following manner : 

" First, That each teacher in connection with this Society 
be requested to give access to the roll of his or her school to 
the committee, or furnish the necessary information, so that 
full and accurate statistics on this subject may be prepared. 

" Second, That the remedy for this evil lies in the excellence 
of instruction, making seats in the school of value, and in the 
forfeiture of these seats when from any other cause than sick- 
ness the attendance is irregular." 

At one of the meetings of the society President Drysdale 
stated that he had been informed that the Board at their last 
meeting had passed a resolution " recognizing no holidays ex- 
cept those specified in ' regulations ' of schools, and that teach- 
ers were expected to hold all pupils accountable for non-attend- 
ance on all ' gala days,' as on all other ordinary days." A 
petition was accordingly signed, requesting the Board to 
appoint Friday in the middle of May, to be observed hereafter 
as a May holiday by the public schools. Resolutions were also 



190 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

passed, recommending the teachers " not to close their schools 
without proper authority, because only a few pupils happened 
to be present on ' circus ' and certain other da}s." 

The final result attending the most worthy efforts of this 
society was the report of the committee on " ways and means " 
of replenishing the association's treasury, in which it was 
stated by the chairman that they had obtained the consent of 
the following gentlemen to deliver lectures during the winter 
season, namely. General George Ford, Judge Hayes, Rev. Mr. 
Nevin and Rev. ]\Ir. Crumbaugh. 

Later it was announced that Rev. Crumbaugh had delivered 
an able lecture on " newspapers." At the close of March, the 
chairman of the Lecture Committee reported, " that owing to 
a series of lectures having been delivered in Fulton Hall dur- 
ing the winter, among whom were the gentlemen who had 
agreed to lecture before the Teachers' Society, they would 
therefore recommend the postponement of the lectures for the 
benefit of the society until some future time." The report 
concludes with the statement that as " the receipts of the lec- 
ture already given had failed to meet the expenses incurred 
it would be necessary for each member to contribute his or 
her pro-rata share of the deficiency." This being accom- 
plished, the society adjourned, slightly poorer in this world's 
goods, though wiser by the experience gained. 

For a number of years the " Teachers' Society " flourished 
like a green bay tree in a virgin forest ; but at last its dissolu- 
tion came, as the result of a communication which appeared in 
the Evening Express, over the signatures of three of its mem- 
bers, resulting in their expulsion from the association. After 
a heated discussion it was resolved " that as the signers to the 
newspaper article had manifested a want of good feeling 
toward the members of the society, and hostility against its 
best interests by misrepresenting the action and motives of the 
lecturer, the Rev. Mr. Drysdale, president of the society; and 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 191 

that since its ordinary business can no longer be conducted 
with any degree of safety in their presence, the three offenders 
be summarily dismissed." 

It was further resolved, " that while the members of the 
association fully agree with the editor of the Examiner and 
Herald, in the opinion that ' they shall faithfully labor to in- 
struct the children committed to their care,' they do not think 
that in becoming teachers they forfeit the right of expressing 
their opinion, or of investigating any subject, especially when 
it happens to be one in which they are personally interested ; 
and in return for his superfluous advice, they would merely 
suggest that when presuming in the future to instruct others 
as to their duty, he should first take into consideration the 
propriety of not overstepping the limits of his own." 

The author has carefully gone over the files of the Evening 
Express and Examiner and Herald with a view of ascertain- 
ing the cause of the newspaper controversy, which resulted 
finally in the dissolution of the Lancaster Teachers' Society. 
It was the same c[uestion of local jurisdiction, clothing the 
County Superintendent with authority to examine the teachers 
and to visit the schools, that had previously occupied the atten- 
tion of the Board. At no time, before or since, during the 
sixty-seven years of our local school system, has anything oc- 
curred to equal, in vituperation, the newspaper correspond- 
ence, growing out of the enforcement of the act of 1854, re- 
ferred to in a previous chapter. To herein set forth the 
numerous communications, emanating from men of standing 
in the profession of teaching during the middle fifties, would 
in no way reflect credit, upon the cause in which they were 
engaged. The editors of both papers, while throwing their 
columns open to a free discussion of the question at issue, 
upheld the act of 1854, with a spirit of fairness in marked con- 
trast with that manifested by the professional gentlemen whose 
better judgment was warped by their professional feelings. 



192 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Dismissing this as one of the unfortunate occurrences con- 
sequent to the passage of the law of 1854, the Teachers' 
Society was not without its beneiicial results in coming into 
closer touch with the individual director, likewise with the 
board as a whole. In those days greater demand was made 
on the ingenuity of the teacher than now. They were com- 
pelled to work out many of the school room problems them- 
selves, and were not permitted to sit with arms folded, or with 
note-book in hand, as now-a-days, listening to paid lecturers, 
engaged in many instances to furnish such literary diet as the 
superintendent might suggest. Nor could the State Legisla- 
ture at the time have been prevailed upon to set apart annually 
a sufficient sum for the support of these teachers' institutes. 

However, aside from these reflections, which the modern 
educator is hardly expected to endorse, one of the immediate 
efifects of this society was the closing of all the schools during 
the time of holding the Lancaster County Educational Asso- 
ciation in this city on the third day of January, 1852. Of this 
gathering of teachers, Thomas H. Burrowes was president, and 
in accepting the honor of presiding officer, to cjuote his own 
language, " as a call to duty," he issued the first number of the 
" Lancaster County School Journal," dated January, 1852, and 
before one hundred names had been placed on the subscription 
list. At the instance of friends of education outside of the 
county, at the end of the sixth number* the " Journal " became 
a state magazine, was enlarged to double its size and assumed 
the name Pennsylvania School Journal, which it has ever since 
borne. 

It has generally been supposed that- the first move to estab- 
lish a normal school was made at Millersville in 1855. Two 
years previous, however, Rev. John S. Crumbaugh offered a 
resolution in the Lancaster School Board, authorizing the 
" establishing, of a normal school in this city, with the setting 
apart of a place for said purpose." There can be no doubt 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 193 

that the desire of Rev. Crumliaugh was to estahhsh in our midst 
a normal school with all the advantages of professional train- 
ing. That he foresaw the necessity for a school of this kind, 
who can doubt? And if Lancaster city was to be deprived of 
its immediate benefits, the little town of Millersville has since 
had cause for congratulating itself in having located in its midst 
the First Normal School in the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

The want of space alone prevents the author from tracing 
more fully the history of the Millersville Normal School from 
its small beginning in 1855 to the present time; with its tri- 
umphant success, in sending out into every district in the com- 
monwealth well-equipped teachers. Who can question its 
beneficial effects upon the schools of this city and county? 
What a long list of names of trustees — men who half a cen- 
tury ago came together, pledging themselves to make this in- 
stitution what it is to-day — an honor to the city of Lancaster, 
as well as to the State generally. 

It is well that the people of this city should remember the 
Millersville Normal School with the kindliest of feelings ; for 
when Greater Lancaster becomes an established fact, perhaps 
this institution may be brought w'ithin its corporate limits. 
Should this strike the reader as an idle fancy, let him remem- 
ber that some of us knew the time when the spires of Franklin 
and Marshall College were far beyond the built-up portions of 
the city. But like a magnet, this splendid collegiate institu- 
tion has seen the town encroach upon its old-time exclu- 
siveness, drawing many of our young men into its classic 
halls. Beware, then, ye trustees of Millersville Normal 
School, the inroads of the trolley car; for already the gong is 
clanging on our streets calling attention to the new town of 
" Fairview," the connecting link between us. 

For these reflections the old minute book is responsible ; from 
within its sallow pages comes the reminder that about the year 



194 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

1853 must have been an era of g-ood fellowship between the 
trustees of Franklin and Marshall College and the Lancaster 
School Board. For it was at the meeting of June 2 that Presi- 
dent Steinman read a letter from the Rev. Samuel Bowman, 
chairman of the Committee of Arrangements of the college, 
inviting the Board to attend the opening exercises on June 7, 
in Fulton Hall. In response to this request, it was resolved 
" that the Board meet at the residence of the president, march 
in a body to Fulton Hall, there to witness the event of the 
union of Franklin and Marshall College." 

A single page from right to left, and our eyes fall upon a 
motion of Thomas H. Burrowes : "Resolved, That a commit- 
tee of five directors be appointed, who shall make suitable 
arrangements, and superintend an exhibition of the common 
schools of the city, on Saturday of July next, as shall display 
to the citizens the true condition and importance of the schools." 
As no account is given in succeeding minutes of the character 
of this exhibition, its purpose is not so easily determined. 

This year 1853 was not to pass without one very important 
event occurring — that of the resignation of one of Lancaster's 
beloved citizens — whom to have known was to love without 
knowing why. The very mention of his name will recall to 
many yet living the memory of a devoted Christian pastor, 
whose words were a solace, a comfort, an inspiration. His 
letter of withdrawal at the school board's meeting of January 
13 is as follows : 

" Gentlemen of the School Board of Lancaster City: Intend- 
ing soon to leave the city of Lancaster, I hereby tender my 
resignation as a member of your board. I have been con- 
nected with it for a long time, and have been treated by you 
with uniform kindness. I return my sincere thanks for your 
courtesy, and assure you that the recollections of it will be a 
source of satisfaction and delight to me as long as I live. 

" In parting with you, with whom I have been so long en- 




REV. JOHN C. BAKER. 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 195 

gaged in promoting the cause of education, permit me to ex- 
press my best thanks and wishes for your everlasting happiness. 
May God abundantly bless you, and grant that you may suc- 
ceed in rendering the schools vmder your control as efficient 
as I know you desire them to be. 

" With feelings of sincere regret and affectionate regard, I 

am, gentlemen, 

" Your friend, 

" John C. Baker." 

The following resolutions were then offered and unanimously 
adopted : 

"Resolved, That Doctor Baker's uniform kindness, faith- 
fulness and ability in the discharge of his duties as director, 
and more especially as chairman of the Superintending Com- 
mittee since 1840, found a model for every member of this 
Board; and that his withdrawal creates a vacancy which will 
be difficult to supply. 

" Resolved, That this loss will be even greater to the youth 
of the city than to the board ; for they will be deprived of their 
regular visitations, parental encouragement in well-doing, and 
mild but firm rebuke of ill-conduct, which have been so long 
and faithfully administered, and probably turned many stray- 
ing steps into paths of rectitude. 

"Resolved, That as a prominent testimonial of the feelings 
of this board, the resolutions shall be entered at length on the 
minutes, and that a duly certified copy of them shall be pre- 
pared by the secretary and presented to Doctor Baker by the 
president in person." 

On motion it was resolved " that the letter of resignation 
of Rev. John C. Baker, D.D., and the resolutions passed this 
evening be published in the papers of this city." Scarcely any- 
thing more would seem to be necessary than that contained in 
the resolutions offered by Mr. Burrowes on the life and charac- 



196 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

ter of this truly good man. He entered the board in 1840, as 
one of the twelve directors appointed during" said year by the 
Court of Common Pleas ; served as chairman of the Superin- 
tending Committee for many years, and was altogether a de- 
voted champion of universal education. On January 27, 1828, 
he preached his trial sermon ; from then on, for a period of 
twenty-iive years, he continued to be Trinity's beloved pastor. 
The time came, however, when he felt that the weight of years 
compelled him to give way to a younger man more in touch 
with those who care little for age or length of service. 

An incident is related by an elderly gentleman who was a 
school boy along in the early fifties when Doctor Baker was a 
frequent visitor. Said my informant : " Mr. Baker never let 
an opportunity go by without giving the lads of the school a 
few words of wholesome advice." 

The venerable doctor was an inveterate chewer of the 
" weed," a custom that was sanctioned by public opinion in those 
days. On one occasion while he was somewhat inconsistently 
addressing the school on the evil effects of tobacco-chewing, he 
unconsciously partook of a good-sized "-quid," which seemed 
to make his ideas flow all the more smoothly. At the close of 
his talk, however, one of the larger boys, that had been fre- 
quently reprimanded, exclaimed, " Better take the quid out of 
your own mouth." 

Nothing daunted, the doctor removed the tobacco and casting 
it into the stove, exclaimed, " You are right, my boy ; the habit 
is a filthy one for either boy or man, and never more shall I 
use the article in any shape." For several years thereafter, and 
until he left the city, never was Doctor Baker known to indulge 
himself again. In the place of the tobacco could usually be 
found a rose stem or a strand from a broom. 

At the meeting of March 12 the following was oft'ered and 
adopted : 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 197 

" Rcsoh'cd, That the hoard attend the funeral of Mr. Jacob 
Price, and that they meet at this place at eight o'clock Monday 
next for that purpose, and that all the schools be dismissed to 
enable the teachers to attend his funeral in a body." This was 
but a fitting- tribute to an old, respected teacher — one of the last 
of the old masters, who had served under Gad Day's supervis- 
ion. Of his long- service, his worth as a man, and his ex- 
emplary character, much might be said. Suffice it to say, he 
was true to his profession, and true to his friends. 

There was one other, of the same type of old schoolmasters, 
who was possibly better known for a score of years, by the boys 
who attended the free schools fron-i 1840 to i860 than any other 
teacher in the employ of the board. Although a lad under his 
schoolmastership during the middle forties, we will leave im- 
pressions formed of him to another, whose vivid recollections 
of those by-gone days have not been dulled by the cares which 
more than fifty years have brought in their train. 

" Recall Samuel O. Nourse, who for more than twenty 
years taught the young idea how to shoot ! Well, indeed, do I. 
It was about the year 1844 that I fell under the tutelage of Mr. 
Nourse, who kept school in one of the rooms near the corner 
of Duke and German. I remember him as a man of stern, 
steady habits and intentions. He was a man of erect build, 
spare of flesh, stern in voice, and always decided in expression, 
a native of one of the Berniuda islands, if I remember correctly. 
His dress of black was always that of a professional gentleman 
of the times : ' swallow tail,' ' stand-up collar,' his cravat a 
black silk neckerchief, rolled twice around the neck, forming 
as of that day the first step away from the older ' stock collar ' 
custom. 

"As a teacher, he was an assiduous worker, but this was 
required to meet the demands of the school. His hours between 
sessions were used to keep the material ready for the boys, such 
as ' making pens ' out of goose quills, and ' setting copies ' for 
scholars learning to write. 



198 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" School sessions were from 9 a. m. sharp to 12 m. and from 
2 to 5 o'clock. Closing- at 12, he would run hastily four or five 
squares to his dinner, on Prince, a half square north of ' the 
jail' (now the site of the Fulton Opera House), and getting 
back in due time set to making pens, and if well made they'd 
write well ; if perchance, they were not artistically shaped, how 
one point would occasionally catch on the paper, and ' spritz ' 
the ink like spread-eagles, over the copy book. 

" Ruling copy books was another ' beautiful pastime ' in 
which he was compelled to indulge. The paper for writing was 
sewed into books of four or more sheets of foolscap, unruled, 
for beginners requiring lines. To execute this work nicely he 
had a hard-wood ruler, round, about an inch wide and twelve 
to sixteen inches in length. Then when the ' setting of copies ' 
was taken up, first with straight lines and pot-hooks, would 
come ' Honesty is the best policy,' ' Procrastination is the 
thief of time,' ' Time and tide wait for no man ' and others. 

" This ruler of Mr. Nourse had still another duty to perform. 
How often when Tom, Dick or Harry was not acting in accord 
with discipline, did that ruler fly over the heads of the other 
boys to Dick's seat, with a demand from the old gentleman : 
' Dick, bring that messenger here !' Then according to the 
enormity of the ofifcnce came the punishment, with ' Dick, 
hold out your hand !' That was either the open hand on the 
palm, or it was, as he would indicate, the tips of the fingers and 
thumb gathered together, and turned upwards ; in either case, 
there came from the desk a longer, broader, flat ruler, used 
more than for anything else as the ' Executor of the law.' 

" In those days referred to the teacher was in no danger of 
prosecution for punishing a scholar. At one time there was a 
persistent ' truant ' or ' bag-player,' who would without leave 
or license remain from school days at a time. To break him of 
this habit, and at the same to punish him sufficiently was quite 
a study. But to think out difficult problems in the line of 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 199 

' child culture," in the making; of the future man, was a part of 
the master's daily avocation. So, to cure ' Andy Blue ' of the 
hal)it of truancy, he tirst sent out a squad of boys in search of 
' Andy.' At the same time he sent out another contingent over 
into ' Green Lane,' from which they brought a bunch of from 
six to ten withes. When the last squad arrived with the subject 
of their research, Andy was compelled to get on the back of 
another boy — the tallest in the school, and while thus ' riding 
pickaback ' he received a fine ' scotching.' This wholesome 
application of moral suasion had the desired effect of bringing 
Andy Blue to school pretty regularly. 

" Another recollection of this school is this : After being in 
line before his desk and platform, and having read the lesson 
asked for by IMr. Nourse, all books were closed and hands 
folded behind each back. Then each in turn was given a word 
from reading to spell ' out-a-book.' With a peculiar rocking 
motion from right to left, the boys would spell it out. On one 
occasion he gave ' Andy Blue ' the word ' killdy ' to spell, no 
doubt as a soothing ointment to his wounded feelings. With 
the accustomed rocker roll, without giving each letter, he sang 
out ' kill-kill-fiy-fly-killfly,' and it was left to go as correct, 
with onl}- a quiet laugh from the boys and a frown from the 
master. 

" There was a time, in the history of the schools ' on the hill,' 
when on Saturday mornings, a short session would be held, 
but for what purpose scholars never learned. Nevertheless, 
when done with whatever recitations were assigned, on more 
than one occasion ' because ' boys had done well, they were 
asked to exercise their muscles at ' wood-sawing,' in the cellar 
in his residence. Xor did they ever demur. It was always a 
pleasure to do some such chore for ]\lr. Xourse when he 
asked it." 

Leaving my aged friend for other fields of conquest, other 
thoughts of Mr. Nourse aroused by the interview, and his 
18 



200 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

likeness came floating over my vision. The little trials and 
escapades, the many foolish things of boy-days — all these came 
back as we glanced at his profile. Let us be charitable — thank- 
ful that we, with a few others, are yet alive to revere his 
memory. Many old schoolmasters were worse, some better 
possibly, but none more sincere, more kindly disposed. In his 
home life he was an indulgent husband and father, bringing up 
a large family of children, nearly all yet living to bless his 
memory. If the father was one of the old school, his daughter, 
Victoria, who, along in the sixties, was one of Lancaster's 
most successful teachers, has until recently been a supervising 
principal in the schools of the city of Washington. Now after 
thirty years of service, she is resting on a yearly pension of 
$600. Her two brothers, Clarence and Frederick, are yet 
living — the one in Pittsburgh, the other in Baltimore — both 
holding responsible positions, the result of good home train- 
ing, at the hands of this same old schoolmaster, Samuel O. 
Nourse, who kept school " on the hill " so many years ago. 

"Do you recall to mind the Rev. Walter S. Drysdale?" I 
asked of another aged citizen, not so many weeks ago, as with 
pencil in hand, he wrote his name in his John Hancock style in 
the author's autograph album of subscribers. The principal 
of the girls' high school, away back in the fifties? Knew him? 
None better. Call round at your leisure and the Mrs. will give 
you her girlhood experience with him. 

" No," he continued, absent-mindedly, " he came to Lancas- 
ter rather to teach than to preach ; and yet he was clerically in- 
clined—tall, slender, of middle-age — a man who at all times 
wore a high-topped beaver, a suit of black, moving with a grace 
and dignity which always counted for much among the numer- 
ous divines who were prominent in educational affairs. 

" Ah, yes, my friend," he resumed as we jogged along arm 
in arm, " dignity of bearing, and a certain suavity of manner 
counted for more during those days than a certificate from the 



THE SCHOOLMASTER ON THE HILL. 201 

Superintending' Committee. A ruffled shirt-front, a stand-up 
collar, with half a yard of black satin bound half a dozen times 
around the neck to keep the seat of knowledge in an upright 
position ; then a fluency of speech, an ability to measure swords 
with such disputants as the late General Ditmars, was a pass- 
port tO' Lancaster's literary coterie of celebrities." 

" How fared the young' college graduates who applied for 
positions?" I asked. 

" As a rule, they had a hard road to travel," came his prompt 
rejoinder. " Fresh from their Alma Mater, they were imbued 
with a certain feeling of importance — ' knew it all,' as the say- 
ing goes. That was before they came under the scrutinizing 
eyes of the examining" committee, especially prepared to meas- 
ure up the young collegiates. But bless you, my friend, when 
these young fellows emerged from their presence with a third- 
or fourth-rate certificate, they had more practical experience 
and less confidence in their own abilities. 

" It seems a singular fact, but one capable of demonstration," 
he went on, recalling his own early experiences as a teacher, 
" that where one of these young college boys could be found 
entirely capable of teaching the common branches of the school 
curriculum, a dozen were fitted to teach Latin, Greek, or the 
higher mathematics ; and of the former the committee was ever 
in search. 

" And this is suggestive of another line of reasoning," he 
added, glancing at the snow-flakes, falling at our feet like 
silvery strands, " when a teacher is found, entirely capable of 
teaching the ' three R's,' is her salary increased in proportion 
to services rendered ? Instead of being held in the position for 
which by nature and training she is so well adapted, promotion 
follows, with increased compensation, but with the chances 
against her of success. To supply the vacancy, in all respects 
so admirably filled, the young high school graduate is given 
the place. And so, the experimental process goes on from 



202 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

year to year in our primary schools. The course of promotion, 
if anything," he resumed after another moment's hesitation, 
" should be downward rather than upward ; let the highest 
salaries be paid the primary teachers, and the results, in the 
higher schools, will be correspondingly increased. All the 
specialized knowledge of our higher education fails to compen- 
sate for imperfect training in the fundamentals.'' 

" But the young high school graduates, what are to become 
of them ? They must have a starting place somewhere, and if 
not in the lower grades, then where?" came my rejoinder, 
realizing" that to theorize was one thing, while to find a panacea 
for these growing ills was something entirely different. 

" Yes, yes ! you are entirely correct ; the young graduates 
must not be entirely ignored ; otherwise there might be a short- 
age in the supply. However, to overcome the difificulty," he 
concluded, " what the Lancaster School Board most needs and 
what the public will in time demand is. a ' training school,' 
from which the young graduate may go forth into the school- 
room fully equipped for the duties of her calling." 




HON. THOMAS H. BURROWES. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THOMAS n. BURROWES, THE SIXTH PRESIDENT. 

Thomas H. Burrowes, the Sixth President — William B. Wiley, the 
Fourth Secretary — Resignation of Father Keenan — Resolutions of Con- 
dolence on the Death of F. J. Kramph — ^Hon. Alexander L. Hayes, the 
Seventh President — Resolutions of Regret on the Death of John S. 
Crumbaugh — Fiv'e County Superintendents of Lancaster County — An 
Old-fashioned Letter to a Member of the Lancaster School Board, in 
1859. 

To pass from the fifties into the sixties without reference to 
three important changes in the officers of the board would be 
doing injtistice to men conspicuotis for their abiHty and high 
standing as co-workers in the cause of education. 

On the ninth of November, 1855, George M. Steinman, who 
had been reelected annually since 1846 as the board's presiding 
officer, resigned the office. Whereupon Thomas H. Burrowes 
was elected as the Sixth President. On the third of May fol- 
lowing he was reelected, serving until the fourth of February, 
1858, wdien he resigned the office to become mayor of the city, 
holding his place, however, as ex-oHficio member of the board. 
In reliquishing the position of presiding officer, a vote of thanks 
was tendered him for the able and impartial manner in which 
he had discharged his duties. 

Born of Irish parents in the borough of Strasburg-, this 
county, on the sixteenth day of November, 1805, the subject 
of this sketch received the rudiments of an education in the 
private schools, and a more liberal training in Quebec, Canada, 
and later at Trinity College, Dublin, where his parents resided 
for a time. After returning to Pennsylvania he studied law 
with Amos Elliuaker, Esq. He spent a year at the Yale Law 
School, and in 1829 was admitted to practice law before the 
Lancaster county courts. In 1831 he was elected to the Legis- 

203 



204 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

lature by the Whigs; and in 1835 ^^'^s appointed Secretary of 
the Commonwealth, becoming" cx-officio Superintendent of 
Common Schools as has already been noted. 

Inasmuch as it would seem impossible to discuss the school 
problem in any of its phases from 1844 to 1862 while he was 
connected with the Lancaster School Board, without frequent 
mention of the name of Dr. Burrowes, the question may natur- 
ally arise, " Was Dr. Burrowes a great man in the generally 
accepted definition of the term?" From an educational stand- 
point, yes ; as an humble, unpretentious worker in the vineyard 
of intellectual development, he was without his superior in 
the broad domain of education. He was more than this ; he 
was a man of the common people, with whom he lived, with 
whom he died. Others were his superiors in the law, in states- 
manship ; but none more earnest, more devoted, more self- 
sacrificing in laying the foundation of the common school 
system of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

On his membership in the Lancaster School Board, during 
a score of years we let his record rest. Always kindly disposed, 
never self-assertive, ostentatious nor pretentious in the dis- 
play of knowledge of school affairs among his colleagues, he 
died as he lived, a commonplace citizen, poor in this world's 
goods but with the consciousness of duty well performed. We 
knew him well and intimately, first as a school boy and later 
as a teacher, and when he gave requested advice there was little 
in his demeanor to justify the impression that the experience 
of his eventful life had elevated him beyond the sphere of his 
fellow citizens. 

Of the long list of directors whose names will be found else- 
where, there was only one to hold both the office of secretary 
and treasurer, not. however, at the same time. In June, 1855, 
Mr. William B. Wiley was elected to fill a vacancy caused by 
the resignation of the late Horace Rathvon. On the seventh 
day of February, 1856, he became the Fourth Secretary of the 




WILUIAM B. WILEY. 



THOMAS II. BITRROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 205 

board, to fill the unexpired term of John Zimmerman, who, it 
will be recalled, resigned the office to accept that of mayor. 

Three changes strike the eye of the author, as he lays aside 
Minute Books I. and II., in which are the recordings of Findlay, 
Forney and Zimmerman, and takes up Volume III. : First, the 
difference in the style of penmanship ; second, the size of the 
volume, covering some five hundred pages ; and third, Mr. 
Wiley's signature to each monthly minutes ; for never before 
were the three previous officers known to sign their names to 
the records of the school lx)ard"s proceedings. The presump- 
tion is that John K. Findlay having set the example as far back 
as 1838, his successors followed the same course until the elec- 
tion of " Squire Wiley," whose signature never failed to follow 
his own recordings. 

]\Ir. Wiley was a native of this city, having been born May 
6, 1823. Accompanied by three brothers, his father came to 
Lancaster from the eastern shore of Virginia, settling here 
about the time Lancaster became a city. 

Of the various business operations in which Mr. Wiley was 
engaged down to the time he became a director, space forbids 
mention. It may be said that, as a magistrate. Alderman Wiley 
was an emininetly just one. His death occurred May 3, 1883, 
in his sixtieth year. 

In reviewing nearly a score of years of the board's proceed- 
ings the eye has become accustomed to fall upon a familiar 
name ; to miss it so suddenly carries with it a tinge of sadness. 
At the roll-call in 1856 one of the board's most useful mem- 
bers failed to respond — a most lovable companion, modest, 
truthful and full of the milk of human kindness in all his rela- 
tions private and public, with his church, his friends and the 
school board, whose interests he so faithfully served — Father 
Keenan, who for nearly twenty years had served his consti- 
tuents, handed in his resignation. He had gone to join his de- 
voted friends, Bowman and Baker, in retirement from the cares 



206 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

which are sure to follow in the wake of the active, conscientious 
school director. 

The name of a good man, charitably inclined, ever ready to 
alleviate suffering, come in what shape it may, is destined to 
live as long as faith, hope and charity are the cardinal virtues 
of a Christian community. Father Keenan possessed all of 
these in a marked degree. For nearly half a century, this de- 
voted servant of Christ labored in our midst in the discharge of 
his pastoral duties. Of the close bond of union between him- 
self, the Rev. Sanniel Bowman and the Rev. John C. Baker, 
the older generation delight to speak, recalling, as they do, 
this trio of distinguished divines, as they together visited the 
schools at least once a month. 

With the history of Doctor Baker the reader is familiar ; with 
the early life of the Rev. Samuel Bowman, a few additional 
words may serve to impress more deeply upon the camera of 
the mind his many endearing traits of character, worthy of 
being imitated by the young men of our city, and for whose 
guidance in later life this volume has been partially written. 

The Rev. Samuel Bowman was born in the beautiful Wyom- 
ing \"alley in the year 1800, and became the rector of Saint 
James' Episcopal church at the age of twenty-seven. We re- 
call him all the more intimately, having as a lad sat in a little 
nook at one end of the gallery of the old church. How many 
times, as a caution of admonition, would his finger be raised 
as a reminder of a boy's forgetfulness. But with it came sort 
of a loving smile, leaving its impression deep and lasting in the 
heart of more than one boy of half a century ago. We quote 
an extract from the " Parochial History," written a few years 
ago by the late J. M. W. Geist, as a memorial tribute to the 
life and services of this Christian pastor and citizen. 

" Little did we think that the cordial ' good night ' with 
which he parted from us at the parsonage gate was the last 
word we would ever hear from his lips. But such was the will 




REV. BERNHARD KEENAN. 



THOMAS 11. CURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 207 

of the Father. On Tuesday lie left on an Episcopal visit to the 
Oil Region; and the following Saturday evening (August 3, 
1861), the telegraph brought the startling intelligence that this 
humble and unselfish man of God, this faithful and devoted 
bishop in the Church of Christ, had been in an instant called 
from his Master's service to his reward." 

Keenan — Bowman — Baker. May their names ever be asso- 
ciated with the growth of education in those early, trying days, 
when kind words fitly spoken were of greater value than silver 
or gold ! These three divines, however, were not the only ones 
whose energies were given to the cause of education ; others 
have served, and others still are to find their names recorded 
in the minutes of the school board's proceedings. As it cannot 
be said of the past, so we hope it may not be said of the future, 
that the ministers of Lancaster have lost interest in the cause 
of popular education. 

Another name of this time Ijrings old recollections : it was 
along in the year 1855, that Jesse Landis, Esq., entered the 
board as cx-ofHcio of common councils, in company with Mayor 
Albright. Of Mr. Landis the writer delights to speak, for he 
was among the first members of the Lancaster bar to give the 
young teachers a hearty welcome back to the city of his birth 
after an absence of nearly a decade. 

It was in the month of September, 1865, that his young son, 
now President Judge of the Court of Lancaster county, entered 
the South Duke street secondary school as a student. Since 
that early day, both Charles and James, following the example 
of their father, have served in the capacity of school director — 
the judge beginning his career as teacher of a district school. 
Thus does times bring about many changes. 

We are now called upon to note the proceedings of a special 
meeting, held April 19, 1858, at which Mr. Amos Slaymaker 
presented the following memorial tribute, which was unani- 
mously adopted : 



208 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" Whereas, In the dispensation of an All-Wise Providence, 
it has pleased God to remove from among us, in the full vigor 
of his manhood, our late esteemed associate, F. J. Kramph, 
therefore, 

" Rcsok'cd, That while we bow with resignation to the de- 
cree which has removed him, we would ]je unfaithful to our 
own feelings, did we not attempt to express the loss sustained 
by this community in his death. Of him it may truly be said, 
in all things relating to life he was a model citizen, and a good 
man, fond and affectionate husband and father, a sincere friend, 
just and considerate employer, a faithful, zealous and indus- 
trious director, a firm advocate of the cause of education ; and 
as the friend of the poor and distressed, his equal may rarely, 
his superior never, be found. 

" Resoh'cd, That this board sincerely condole with the fam- 
ily of their late associate in their affliction, and as a testimony 
of respect for his worth, they will attend his funeral in a body. 

''Resolved, That the secretary be requested to furnish the 
family of the deceased with a copy of these resolutions, and 
also that they be published in the different papers of the city." 

At the May meeting of 1858, there being a vacancy in the 
presidency of the board, owing to the resignation of Thomas 
H. Burrowes, who then became mayor of the city, the Hon. 
Alexander L. Hayes was installed as the Lancaster School 
Board's Sez'enth President. 

At the meeting of August 10, 1838, A. L. Hayes had been 
elected a meml^er in place of Adam Reigart, and his first duty 
was to prepare a contract to be signed by the teachers before 
entering on their duties. He was chairman of the Finance 
Committee almost from the organization of the system in this 
city, submitting in the year 1840 the financial condition of the 
board for the two years previous. 

In giving a short sketch of this distinguished citizen, it may 
be said that he was born in Kent county, Delaware, in 1793. 




HON. A. L. HAYES. 



19 



THOMAS H. BURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 209 

He graduated from Dickinson College in 1812, and along in the 
thirties settled in Lancaster. He was appointed an associate 
justice in 1827. In 1884 the office of law judge was created, 
and Mr. Hayes was elected to fill it. Ten years later he was 
reelected and continued in office until 1894, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Hon. D. W. Patterson. Forty-two years, then, may 
be said to have been the limit of his judicial life. But Judge 
Hayes was never weary of well-doing ; he could ever find 
time to devote to the cause of education in Lancaster. Lie was 
one of the trustees of the State Normal School at Millersville, 
a trustee and vice-president of Franklin and Marshall College, 
an active member of the Athenaeum and Historical Society. In 
addition, he was of a genial nature, tall, dignified in manner 
as well as undemonstrative in his daily walks of life. 

The first special meeting called by President Hayes was that 
of January 14, 1859, which met under peculiarly distressing 
circumstances. Coming so closely upon that most unfortunate 
condition of affairs in which the board and the principals of the 
Boys and Girls' High Schools were involved, it was with feel- 
ings of sadness that President Hayes announced the appoint- 
ment of a committee of three tO' take action on the death of 
John S. Crumbaugh. The committee reported as follows : 

" Divine Providence having removed from the scene of his 
earthly labors, John S. Crumbaugh, it is the duty as well as the 
sad privilege of this board to express the feelings occasioned 
by the event and its estimate of his character and public ser- 
vices, therefore, 

"Resolved, That in common with the citizens of Lancaster 
county, we deplore in the death of John S. Crumbaugh, the loss 
of a county superintendent whose learning, zeal, urbanity 
and sound practical sense, in the discharge of the various and 
difficult duties of the office, were unsurpassed. 

" Resolved, That while a teacher in the highest station in the 
gift of the board, the impress made by him on the moral and 



210 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

intellectual condition of the youth committed to his care was 
such as entirely to justify that important trust. 

" Resolved, That as a member of this board, his deportment 
was such as to command the confidence and respect of his 
associates. 

'' Resolved, That though our city has recently been called 
on to lament the departure of many of her most useful citizens, 
the name of John S. Crumbaugh be added to the list of the most 
worthy, as that of one whose brief life is a record of learning, 
usefulness and honor. 

"Resolved, That the officers of this board present to the 
family of the deceased a copy of these resolutions, as a tribute 
of our respect for his memory and of condolence with them in 
their afilictions. 

" Resolved, That we attend his funeral in a body, and invite 
the teachers of the city schools and the present and former 
pupils of the male high school also to attend." 

On motion of Rev. Air. Krotel, the resolutions were unani- 
mously adopted. 

Of the five county superintendents of Lancaster county from 
the year 1854, down to the present year, two were members 
of the Lancaster School Board. From the time of Mr. Wick- 
ersham, down through the past half century, each, in turn, was 
directly and officially connected with the cause of education in 
this city. There is one, in particular, for whose memory a good 
word may be spoken. We refer to the late David Evans, who 
for thirteen years was the superintendent of the schools of 
both city and county. Appointed in the winter of 1859 on the 
death of Mr. Crumbaugh, this indefatigable worker, so little 
understood and appreciated, continued in office until the early 
seventies. His early visitations to the schools of the county, 
in addition to those of the city, were at no time without their 
trials and difficulties. In addition, his yearly salary, at one 
period of three years, was as low as $1,250, out of which he 



THOMAS H. BURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 211 

was compelled to keep a horse and conveyance, hold exam- 
inations and visit over four hundred schools. 

David Evans was not without his peculiarities; in his judg- 
ment of men he was oftentimes wofully in error, turning 
against a friend on the slightest provocation. But with all 
his shortcomings, no superintendent did more during the past 
half century to elevate the system than did David Evans. In 
addition to supervising the schools of the rural districts and 
the examination of their teachers, the schools of Lancaster 
were also under his immediate control. Surely, the salary of 
twelve hundred and fifty dollars per annum, during war times, 
was in no way calculated to inspire confidence, either in him- 
self or in the directors at large. 

Space allows only mention of ex-Superintendent B. F. Shaub, 
and ]\I. J. Brecht. both of whom are living, and both of whom 
generously did their duty by our school system, before the elec- 
tion of a city superintendent and the organization of a separate 
Teachers' Institute. 

Just as we are about to pass from the fifties into the sixties, 
a cofifee-colored letter, addressed to a prominent school official, 
by one of Lancaster's then most prominent citizens, falls into 
the author's hands. 

Glancing over its contents we find it refers to the school 
question of nearly half a century ago. As both the writer and 
the recipient of this unique epistle have long since crossed the 
river of time, it is herein reproduced, containing as it does 
opinions altogether different from those held by the majority 
of people of the present day. That it will be read with inter- 
est, the author of this work has every reason to believe; that 
it will create a revolution in school management, here or else- 
where, is not probable. However, it is well to give the " old 
timers " a hearing, and this we do without regard to the objec- 
tions likelv to be raised bv the modern-dav educators. 



212 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

"Lancaster, May i, 1859. 

" My Dear Doctor: It is my desire to say a few words to 
you concerning the public school question, to ascertain how 
our views concerning it are at variance. You, as I recall, have 
been a member of the Lancaster School Board since its adop- 
tion in 1838, and should be informed on all topics pertaining 
to the new system. This being so, I may expect you in re- 
turn, to favor your old friend with such answers to what I 
may have to say on the school question. 

" Some writer has said that the best form of government 
for any nation is that which will confer the greatest good on 
the greatest number of its people. If this be true of govern- 
ments, it is equally true when applied to our public schools. 
I think the best possible system is that which will give the best 
education to the greatest nvmiber of its children ; and as I know 
from actual computation that less than three per cent, of all 
the scholars who enter the primary schools here in Lancaster 
ever graduate from our high schools, and as I also know that 
over twenty-five per cent, of all the school tax collected in this 
city is spent on the high schools, I am very decidedly of the 
opinion that the public school system of the present day does 
not give the best education to the greatest number of its chil- 
dren. It is an established fact that ninety-seven per cent, of 
all our children drop out of school either before or very soon 
after entering our high schools ; and as it is an equally well- 
established fact that the other three per cent., or those who 
graduate from our high schools, are the children of parents 
whose financial condition is such that they can well afford to 
send their children to a seminary, academy or college, how 
would it do to abolish our high schools altogether, and spend 
the money which we now spend on them on our primary and 
secondary schools? By doing this I am very sure a much 
larger proportion of our pupils would get a much better edu- 
cation than they are now getting, being as they are only feed- 



THOMAS Ti. RURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 213 

ers for the schools they may never hope to enter. As our 
schools are now conducted, the children of the very few are 
being educated at the expense of the children of a great many 
poor men. This is all wrong, my dear doctor, and should not 
be so. In my opinion it is far better that fifty or seventy per 
cent, of any community should be moderately well educated, 
than that education should be confined exclusively to the three 
per cent, of that community. Yet this is what our high schools 
seem to be doing for us — educating the few at the expense of 
the many. 

And yet this is a question where ' nuich can be said on both 
sides.' In considering it, I sometimes think, that perhaps I 
have outlived my day and generation ; and the best thing for 
me to do would be to retire to the rear, and take up my place 
among the baggage wagons and wounded, as I saw down in 
the Mexican war. That at my time of life new fashions come 
in hard, it is useless for me to tell you. A recent writer gives 
a beautiful simile of removing old notions and implanting new 
ones, and tells how ' after great exertion the stone that so 
long lay upon the grass-plot was lifted up, when lo and be- 
hold ! look at the colony of frightened conservatives — lizards 
running here, spiders and insects on this side, bugs and beetles 
on that, and all unclean things scattering to their holes — slimy, 
dark and cold. The stone was taken away : a year later the 
traveler passed, and lo ! behold the change ; violets and delicate 
grasses, and lovely flowers had sprung up on all sides, happy 
in the sunshine.' 

" Unfortunately, the limited few are not receiving the kind 
of an education the times demand ; it is only too frequently 
pointed out by the editor that ' the proof-reader is the school- 
master ' ; that if half the communications falling under his 
scrutinizing eye, from high school graduates, were to find their 
way into the newspapers as penned, the authors behind them 
would hang their heads in shame. So faultv are manv of these 



214 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

articles in spelling, punctuation and grammatical construction, 
as I have had reason to know, as to raise the question of the 
usefulness of such higher education as may follow. Again, 
the business world demands a hearing. Our merchants, could 
they be heard, would have their own story to tell of the ineffi- 
ciency of the proper kind of training to qualify the average 
boy or girl to assume such everyday duties as the business 
world has the right to expect. All these thoughts are ' in the 
air.' It will not do to charge the college graduate with an 
equal deficiency in elementary training; for they in turn may 
lay the cause to our lower and higher grades of public schools. 
But may things not be different a half a century hence? 

" And now, my dear doctor, these modern innovations that 
are sought to be transplanted among us, and that have come 
with the New England schoolmaster, remind me of another 
beautiful legend : It is said that when Thorwaldsen, the Dan- 
ish sculptor, returned to his native land with those beautiful 
works of art which have made his name immortal, the ser- 
vants who unpacked the marble scattered upon the ground 
the straw which was wrapped around them. The next sum- 
mer flowers from the gardens of Rome were blooming in the 
streets of Copenhagen, from the seeds thus planted by acci- 
dent. This is all very pretty and perhaps true, but we all 
know that there are some soils so poor that nothing will grow 
on them. I know it is very old-fogyish for me to say this ; but 
it is nevertheless true. 

" To such an extent are the educational fads and crazes car- 
ried in the different ' Teachers' Institutes,' and examinations, 
that I honestly believe that if Thomas Jefferson and Daniel 
Webster were to apply to the County Superintendent of Lan- 
caster county for a certificate to teach school, and were un- 
known to him, they would not pass the required examination, 
and would be rejected. 

" The advanced theorists tell us that this is an advanced age 



THO^TAS H. BURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 215 

■ — that the thought that once moved at a funeral pace, now 
rushes on in a tremendous charge — that the ' Old Guard ' and 
' Marion's Men ' were ' not in it ' — that the average school boy 
of to-day knows more than his grandparents at three score 
and ten — and that the school boy of ' ye olden time,' who was 
brought up on the New England Primer, Webster's Spelling 
Book, and Pike's Arithmetic, is a back number; that anybody 
who wishes to rise to fame and distinction in this day and gen- 
eration must keep abreast of the times. 

" That the average child of to-day knows more of books, of 
art and of the world, as it ought to, than did the child of a 
score of years ago, I do not deny. Yet I do not believe that 
the children of the present day are correspondingly superior 
in refinement of manners, in gentleness of sentiment, in moral 
integrity, and the general qualities of character and good be- 
havior to those of an earlier day. I would like to have the 
judgment of yourself as to the relative manners of the youth, 
trained under the respective influences of the Lancasterian sys- 
tem and the free school propaganda of the present time. 

" I very likely am unconsciously swayed by the conserva- 
tism belonging to my years, but I remember well the lessons 
taught at home an<l in the schools of my childhood. I was 
instructed to treat my superiors with respect, with all courtesy, 
and was made to do it. When we met the clergyman, the 
doctor and the squire wdio constituted the ' Committee,' on the 
road or elsewhere, w-e used to take off our caps and stand and 
bow to them as they passed. Perhaps such training" was arti- 
ficial and superficial, but yet I have had reason to be thankful 
for it. I have since then passed many a school wdien the boys 
were out and I was glad to make extra speed to get out of the 
way of the flying missiles hurled at my head, and beyond the 
sound of the yells and whoops of the precious youngsters. My 
dear doctor, would not a dose of the New England Primer do 
these young savages some good? 



216 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" I read a poem somewhere," continues the letter, " about 
the death of a modern school teacher. Some years afterwards 
the giving up of the cemetery where he lay became a public 
necessity. Soon after it had been condemned and workmen 
had commenced to dig it up, the spirit of the departed teacher 
was given permission to visit the earth once more, and one of 
the first places it arrived at when it came back here was the 
lot in the old graveyard, where its earthly tabernacle had been 
buried. I will let the poet tell you in his own way, what the 
spirit of the dead teacher saw while in the old cemetery. Here 
is his version of it : 

" He came to the spot where they buried his bones, 

And the ground was well built over ; 

But the laborers digging threw out a skull, 

Once planted beneath the clover, 

A disciple of Galen wandering by 

Paused to look at the diggers ; 

And picking the skull up, looked through the eye, 

And saw it was lined with figures. 

' Just as I thought,' said the young M.D. 

' How easy it is to kill 'em ! 

Statistics ossified every fold 

Of cerebrum and 'helium.' 

' It's a great curiosity, sure,' said Pat, 

' By the bones ye can tell the creature.' 

' Oh, nothing strange,' said the doctor ; ' that 

Was a nineteenth century teacher.' 

" In considering the relative merits of the old and new sys- 
tems of teaching, I scarcely know whether to confess that I 
am sad or joyful. Standing here and looking backward fifty 
years, the memories of these other years come trooping in upon 
me like so many musty old volumes that have been embalmed 
and suddenly illuminated by the sunshine of the hour. If, 
under the circumstances, I feel a shadow of sadness gathering 
around me, it is because I see so many broad gaps in the circle 
of my old friends who have passed into the spirit land. In 
these fifty years I have seen moving two great processions; one 



THOMAS H. BURROWES, THE 6TH PRESIDENT. 217 

coming on the stage to play its brief part, the other passing 
silently away. In the former I see the faces of those I knew 
as little children twenty years ago ; in the latter I see the faces 
of old friends and associates, dear comrades who, like myself, 
are listening to the rustle of the autumn leaves and waiting for 
the winter time ; and it is the fact that I am so surrounded that 
gives me strength and lends fresh warmth to an old man's 
heart. But I do not deem it necessary to be reminiscent, for 
to begin the story would be like the opening of a book that 
could not be read in a single night. And so in the lines of 
America's sweetest poet, I would say — 

" Whatever poet, orator or sage 
May say of it, our age is still old age. 
What then? Shall we sit idly down and say 
'The night has come, it is no longer day?' 
The night hath not yet come ; we are not quite 
Cut off from lahor by the failing light." 

" Very Truly Yours, 



This old-fashioned letter, from an old-fashioned gentleman, 
to a member of the Lancaster School Board of over forty years 
ago, bewailing the tendencies of the times, has a peculiar sig- 
nificance at the present time. If the educational development 
of nearly half a century ago proved a thorn in his side, and 
made him feel that the old town of Lancaster had turned 
topsy-turvy, who can imagine his feelings, could he pay a visit 
to his native city in the year, A. D. 1905? — to fall into the 
hands of the Superintending Committee to be taken around 
the town on a trolley car. Would it not be a solace for him 
to visit the old Lancasterian building, where, glancing at its 
outlines — the same as nearly a century ago — he could exclaim 
in the fullness of his heart, " Well, well, old man, things are 
not so bad after all, for here, indeed, stands the old structure 
as in days of yore. The school board has no doubt changed, 
and the teachers, perchance, are not the same as when Pro- 



218 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

fessor Gad Day held forth within its walls ; but, nevertheless, 
there seems to be a conservatism surrounding the town which 
I little imagined when I wrote that letter." 

But mark the change as he passes, first, to the boys' high 
school, thence to the dozen other stately structures; and last, 
though not least, to the new Stevens High School, opposite to 
which, in his day, stood the old frame structure known as the 
" silk factory." 

It is the first opening hour of its dedication to the cause for 
which it was designed ; young and old are crowding their way 
forward to witness the ceremonies ; and amid the strains of the 
orchestra, our old friend takes his seat upon the platform, 
there to witness a scene never dreamed of when he penned his 
pessimistic letter so many years before. 

" Truly, a wonderful change has come to pass since fifty 
years ago," he casually remarks to the president, as arm in 
arm they wend their way in search of the many other changes 
time hath wrought. 

If these are but pictures of the past, they are none the less 
real. They are not intended for the younger reader, but 
rather for the few who, having passed through similar experi- 
ences, yet linger on the brink of time, bemoaning the passing 
of the old, the incoming of the new. 

And as we drift on down through the past into the future, 
let the memory of the old men — the active, moving spirits of 
other days, still continue to dwell among us. To preserve 
their memories fresh and green, down to the conclusion of the 
story, shall be the purpose of the author. If, as it is hoped, 
each generation is to produce a class of school directors and 
teachers far superior in intellectual attainments to those who 
preceded them, happy, indeed, shall the writer be to give credit 
to whom credit is due. 



CHAPTER XV. 

DAWNING OF THE WAR PERIOD. 

Dawning of the War Period — Slow Growtli of Lancaster down to 
i860 — Names of Directors — Report of the Finance Committee — The 
Treasurer's Report — Assessed Valuation of Property for School Pur- 
poses — Committee on Retrenchment and Reform — Resolution of Cen- 
sure — Two Graduates Enter Franklin and Marshall College — Appoint- 
ment of a Library Committee — John W. Jackson's Resolution to 
Suspend the Boys' High School for one year. 

We are now to enter upon the " war period " — troublous 
times, indeed, for the Lancaster School Board, when boys 
and girls, men and women past middle age now, went trudging 
their way to school, little realizing what a protracted war was 
to follow. 

That Lancaster was of slow growth down to i860 can be 
emphasized in no more forcible way than by reference to the 
census. We find the average annual increase of population 
during twenty years after 1840 was something over four hun- 
dred. With about eight thousand in 1840, it reached twelve 
thousand in 1850 and seventeen thousand in i860, an increase 
of but nine thousand during the preceding score of years, which, 
in those slow-going times attracted very little attention ; for 
the reason that many of Lancaster's conservative citizens clung 
tenaciously to the idea that the " old town " was doing well 
enough in its way, without any of those disturbing conditions, 
which the industrial life of other cities had brought about. 
In those slow-going times preceding the sixties, an occasional 
reference was made to the time when Lancaster was the largest 
inland town in the union. But notwithstanding the fact that 
other cities were forging their way to the front, leaving Lan- 
caster to indulge herself in her Rip Van Winkle sleep, the 
peaceful inhabitants who still lived in the past, instead of 

219 



220 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

glancing into the future, continued in the even tenor of their 
way until the first call for volunteers and the sound of martial 
nmsic sent a thrill of renewed activity among old and young. 
But all this is history, and has little further to do with my story. 

With the dawning of the war period, strange as it may seem, 
and notwithstanding the large number of men who entered the 
army, the number of school children, for whose accommoda- 
tion provision had to be made, instead of growing less, con- 
tinued to multiply. 

Of the following names of directors who were present at 
the meetings on the fifth of J\lay, i860, only two are living at 
the present time. The older reader will recognize in this list 
more than one familiar name, of those who, forty odd years 
ago were among the representative citizens of the town, 
namely : John L. Atlee, William Augustus Atlee, George F. 
Breneman, Thomas H. Burrowes, Rev. George F. Krotel, Wil- 
liam Carpenter, John J. Cochran, Dr. Patrick Cassidy, Oliver 
J. Dickey, Rev. J. S. Demund, John W. Jackson, Dr. Augustus 
Ehler, David Hartman, A. L. Hayes, D. Heitshu, George M. 
Kline, Dr. John Levergood, David Locher, J. B. Livingston, 
Newton Lightner, Reuben H. Long, Peter McConomy, Dr. F. 
A. Muhlenberg, Dr. H. E. Muhlenberg, D. W. Patterson, 
Horace Rathvon, Rudy F. Ranch, A. W. Russel, Anthony E. 
Roberts, George M. Steinman, George Sanderson, Hiram B. 
Swarr, Amos Slaymaker, William Whiteside, William B. 
Wiley, William R. Wilson, and Gofreid Zahm. 

From now on the reader will closely study the personal char- 
acteristics of this or that director, looking for the underlying 
motives which influenced his action. To discriminate between 
men of different temperaments ; to point to this or that member 
who could see great possibilities in the future of the system 
and worked to that end, as against the man who simply en- 
tered the board as a spoke in the political or educational wheel, 
will hardly escape the attention of the discerning reader. The 



DAWNING OF THE WAR PERIOD. 221 

actions of different directors, however, oftentimes convey 
diverse impressions on the pubhc mind. Their motives are 
only too freqnently misjudged according to the personal or 
political prejudices of the reader. Upright and capable men 
by the scores have represented their constituents in the coun- 
cils of the Lancaster School Board : others, equallv capable and 
conscientious, are yet to take their places before the story of 
our local system of schools shall have been concluded. 

Following the custom hitherto prevailing, there was no con- 
test — at the May meeting — A. L. Hayes being unanimously re- 
elected President, Peter McConomy, Treasurer, William B. 
Wiley Secretary and Mathias Zahm, Messenger. 

After the reading of the Minutes, Mr. Jackson, Chairman of 
the Finance Committee, presented the recent Act of Assembly, 
" An Act for the more prompt payment of school tax in the 
city of Lancaster," as follows : 

"Section I. Be it enacted, That the school directors of the 
city of Lancaster shall have power to grant such an abatement 
of the school tax of said city, not exceeding five per cent., for 
prompt payment, as shall promote the speedy payment thereof, 
and to fix the amount of said abatement and addition annually, 
and the days when the same shall cease to take eft'ect, as the 
same may be, and said school tax shall be levied and collected 
according to the provisions of the Act, entitled ' an Act for 
the regulation and continuance of a system of education by 
common schools,' approved the eighth day of May one thousand 
eight hundred and fifty-four, and the various supplements 
thereto, and the tenth section of act entitled ' An Act relating 
to common schools of the city of Lancaster,' approved the 
twenty-second day of January, 1850, is hereby repealed." 

The same gentleman presented the report of the Finance 
committee : " That acting under the provisions of the law just 
read, and with no wish to increase taxation beyond what our 
necessities absolutely require, they recommend to the board the 



222 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

fixing of the tax rate for school purposes for the coming year 
(i860) at 45 cents on the hundred-dollar valuation, and allow- 
ing for prompt payment to a time to be named by the board, 
five per cent, abatement ; from that time to a certain period the 
full amount to be charged ; and after that time has expired, five 
per cent, additional to be charged as empowered by law. This, 
we think, by the practice of the most rigid economy will enable 
us to pay ofl:' our temporary loan and render the condition of 
our treasury hereafter much better than it has been during the 
last few years. 

" We present the following estimate of requirements and 
resources of the board for the next year : 

45 cents on the one hundred dollar valuation of $3414.00. .. $15,363 00 
Single Freeman 2,000 00 

%i7,3^2, 00 
Errors and Exonorations 1,400 00 

$15,963 00 
5 per cent, abatement for prompt payment on $10.000 500 00 

$15,463 00 
Commission of 2'. 2 per cent, for collection 390 00 

$15,073 00 
5 per cent, on $2,000, unpaid 100 00 

$15,173 00 
2V< on $18,000 State and County 1^ax 450 00 

$15,623 00 
State Appropriation 1,800 00 

$17,423 00 
Expenditures. 

Temporary Loan ." $ i .000 00 

Interest on Loans 1,140 00 

Tuition, including night schools 13,000 00 

Janitors and cleaning houses 500 00 

Repairs 300 00 

Fuel and gas 600 00 

Books and stationery 200 00 

Stoves and hardware 150 00 

Salaries, officers . 225 00 

Contingencies 200 00 

Probable balance 58 00 $I7,423 00 



DAWNING OF THE WAR PERIOD. 223 

" It will be observed," the report continues, " that our esti- 
mate is very close and barely meets onr present wants ; it 
would have been easier to have rendered a much higher rate 
necessary, by estimating for improvements which might be of 
advantage, had we the means at command to make them. At 
the next meeting of the board the Treasurer's report wull be 
presented, and also some suggestions, with regard to loans soon 
to fall due. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

John W. Jackson, 

GODFRIED ZaHM, 

H. R. Long." 

Truly, the Lancaster City School Board had fallen upon hard 
lines, having at the very beginning of the war decade but fifty- 
eight dollars in the treasury ! To increase either the tax-rate 
or the property valuation, when the cost of many of the neces- 
saries of life was doubling and in some instances trebling, was 
not among the immediate possibilities. The only alternative 
was a reduction of teachers' salaries, which soon followed. 

It will be recalled that, in 1850, the assessed valuation for 
school purposes was $3,052,000, producing at a three-mill rate 
$9,156.00. In the year i860, it reached $3,414,000, an actual 
increase during the previous decade of $362,000 or a yearly 
increase of but $36,200 ; an amount so insignificantly small as 
to lead to the conclusion that all building operations had either 
ceased, or that the assessors had gone out of business. By 
reference to Chapter X., the reader will note how the tax-rate 
was increased from thirty, then to thirty-seven, and in this 
year, i860, to forty-five cents on the hundred-dollar valuation. 
It may be assumed that the tax-payer could stand with becom- 
ing fortitude an increase in the tax-rate so long as the property 
valuation was not materially disturbed. Those, indeed, who 
had the ears of the assessors, who valued property in accord- 
ance with the desires of their constituents, stood ever on the 
20 



224 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

alert to profit by what, in many instances, were monstrously 
unfair discriminations. 

For the names of the half-hundred teachers engaged in the 
work at the beginning or the year i860, the reader is referred 
to the appendix. To trace each through his or her life's 
work, to give the impressions they left upon the minds and 
hearts of their pupils, their passing daily to and from the school 
room — this we leave to some one younger in years. 

At the July meeting of 1861, Dr. Atlee, of the Superintending 
Committee presented the report of Superintendent Row, with 
such portions marked as the committee had selected for publi- 
cation, and moved that a vote of thanks be extended to John 
J. Cochran, Esq., for his kindness in ofifering to publish the 
same gratuitously in his paper, " The Lancaster Union," which 
was unanimously adopted. A word with reference to the pub- 
lishing of the school board's proceedings : For many years 
after the adoption of the system, very little of importance found 
its way into the newspapers, the reporter being shunned as 
disturber of the eternal fitness of things. On one occasion, as 
the minutes show, a resolution was oiTercd to engage the ser- 
vices of a reporter to make monthly reports of the proceedings, 
but it was very promptly tabled. Such measures as from time 
to time found their way into the press, were generally prepared 
by either the secretary or the chairman of the Superintending 
Committee. 

With this digression, it may be necessary to enter somewhat 
into the life of Superintendent Row. Elected as a teacher in 
1852, he was soon thereafter elected the Superintending Com- 
mittee's superintendent. His position, in this double capacity 
was somewhat peculiar. In addition to being principal of the 
primary and secondary schools, he was charged with the addi- 
tional duty of visiting all the schools once a month, of gather- 
ing up the reports, and submitting them to the censorship of the 
Superintending Committee, at whose hands they found their 



DAWNING OF THE WAR PERIOD. 225 

way before the board at each stated meeting. These respec- 
tive ckities Mr. Row performed for some years to the entire 
satisfaction of the l)oard and teachers. At times he was charged 
with the examination of teachers in the presence of the Snper- 
intending Committee, continning this important function until 
the incoming of the County Superintendency. On the sixteenth 
of July, 1861, he resigned his position and in 1864 became 
Supervisor of Orphan Schools under Tliomas H. liurrowes. 
Later he removed to the state of Iowa where he lived for a 
time, returning to Lancaster, later to pass away in the fulness 
of his years. 

At the following meeting Mr. George R. Barr was elected 
principal of the primary and secondary schools. For a short 
time, until the office of superintendent was abolished, he per- 
formed duties similar to those previously performed by Mr. 
Row. 

As we enter more fully into what may be designated the war 
period, the consensus of opinion of those yet living will bear 
out the statement that it was the most exciting epoch since the 
organization of the system. At no previous time had the pas- 
sions of men been wrought up to a higher pitch of excitement. 
This unfortunate condition, in which brother was arrayed 
against brother, was not alone confined to any one class or in- 
stitution ; it entered largely into the churches, the home and 
into society generally. 

With the incoming of the year 1862 came the era of the 
strictest economy in school afifairs and every part of the sys- 
tem in Lancaster was forced to pay tribute. A special com- 
mittee of seven, designated the " Committee on Retrenchment 
and Reform," was created, of which Dr John L. Atlce was 
chairman. His report submitted at the April meeting con- 
tained the following recommendations : 

" First, Resolved, That it is expedient to dispense with the 
situation of supervising principal of the primary and secondary 



226 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

schools during the present year; second, That the number of 
teachers in the high schools be reduced from three to two in 
each department ; that the salaries for the next year be : prin- 
cipal of male high school, $700 per annum ; assistant, $500 ; 
principal of female high school, $350; assistant, $300; prin- 
cipal of male secondary, $425 ; principal of female secondary, 
$300 ; first assistant male and female secondary, $220 ; second 
assistant in same, $210 ; principals of combined primaries, $200 ; 
assistants in combined primaries, $175 ; all other primary teach- 
ers, $185 ; teacher of African school, $200." 

This was retrenchment pure and simple, showing by com- 
parison that the salaries thus scheduled were in some instances 
lower than when the system was first adopted. 

The salary question having been disposed of, it was 

" Rcsok'cd, That the principal teacher of each school shall 
/eport to the board at the close of each month, in tabular form, 
the name of each pupil, age in years and months, number regis- 
tered, average attendance, date of time the pupil entered the 
school, and from what school, town, village or district it came ; 
time spent in school in days, months and weeks ; time lost in 
absence in days and hours ; time lost in tardiness in hours ; 
date when pupil left school ; to what school transferred, or if 
withdrawn, the cause of such suspension or expulsion ; num- 
ber of visits by directors; remarks bearing on all subjects of 
interest to the board and its various committees." 

Whether the gentleman who offered the resolution ever ex- 
pected it to become effective the minutes fail to disclose. 
However, it suggested the importance of the reinstatement of 
the office of superintendent. 

Mr. Cassidy followed with a resolution requesting the spe- 
cial committee on retrenchment and reform to inquire into the 
expediency of creating an office of a " man of all work." 
While this resolution was unanimously adopted, there is no 
evidence that the office was ever created. 



DAWNING OF THE WAR PERIOD. 227 

At the June meeting of this year, the board became involved 
in a spirited discussion over the following series of resolutions 
offered by D. W. Patterson : 

" Wpiereas, This board has learned that Thomas H. Bur- 
rowes, State Superintendent of Schools, at a late session of 
the Legislature brought about the passage of a law, entitled 
' The Further Supplement to the General School Laws of 
1854/ in a covert manner and without notice to this board or 
to the citizens of Lancaster city. 

'" Resolved, That, in the opinion of this board, both courtesy 
and justice required that notice of the above repeal should 
have been given to the people of Lancaster, or to this board, 
to whom are committed the interest and welfare of the public 
schools of this city. 

" Resohed, That John A. Heistand, Esq., in his consenting 
as a Senator, to receive from the State Superintendent the 
amendment embracing the repeal of said local act, and in pro- 
posing and supporting the same, without giving notice thereof 
to this board and to the citizens of Lancaster, they being his 
own constituency ; and the said repeal not being asked for by 
the petitioners in any other public manner, has therefore de- 
parted from the usual rule governing faithful public servants, 
and introduced a precedent in legislation which ought to be 
discountenanced as being prejudicial to the public welfare." 

This resolution, over which the most heated and prolonged 
discussion followed, and which was eventually laid on the table, 
contained a number of provisions, explanatory of the General 
Act of 1854, creating the office of County Superintendent, and 
which remained in full force until the year 1880, when it was 
supplanted by an act empowering cities and boroughs contain- 
ing a certain population to elect a superintendent of schools. 
It provided twenty-two days as the school month ; no school 
on Saturdays, two of which w^ere to be set apart during each 



228 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

month for the holding of local teachers' institutes. In addi- 
tion, it required boards to send a list of teachers to the County 
Superintendent ; provided for the settling' of election disputes ; 
specifying how and in what manner text-books are to be 
adopted ; regulating the appointment of teachers, and other 
measures, all of which were considered by the author of the 
resolution as conflicting with the special act under which Lan- 
caster had been previously operating. The reader will learn 
in due time that one provision of this act, relating to the adop- 
tion of text-books, has ever been a disputed one, over which 
the best legal minds of the board have wrangled. Free, open, 
unrestricted discussion, however, is one of the healthy signs 
of continued progress, and it is to be hoped that the day may 
never come in the Lancaster School Board's deliberations when 
the liberty of free discussion shall have become lost. 

Another important provision of the school law, passed dur- 
ing the early years, and one that remains in full force to-day, 
empowers the Lancaster City School Board to send annually 
to Franklin and Marshall College at least two of the graduates 
of the boys' high school, without cost to themselves or the 
board. In this connection it may be said that, at the August 
meeting, " application was made by the president of the board 
for the nomination of David M. Stauffer (son of Jacob Stauf- 
fer), a graduate of the high school, as a nominee for a col- 
legiate course at Franklin and Marshall College, in accordance 
with the power conferred on the board, by law." 

Among the resolutions passed at the September meeting 
were the following : 

"Resolved, That the female high school be closed October 
3, to allow the teachers an opportunity to prepare for the ' fair ' 
to be held by them in aid of the ' sick and wounded soldiers ' ; 
also that the Superintending Committee ' be directed to exam- 
ine the law relative to the establishing of Teachers' Institutes, 
and that the female high school be tendered for the holding 



DAWNING OF THE WAR PERIOD. 229 

of meetings for ti.eir instruction.- " These contemplated local 
achers ,„st,tutes, however, were nothing new; they were but 
tl>e revival ,f not the survival of a sintilar kin.I describe.l i„ a 
prevous chapter. Of the urany " fairs " held in Fulton Hall 
di.nns those exciting war times the writer has a distinct recol- 
ec„on. To forget the services rendered the " bovs in blue " 
by the women of Lancaster would be to forget a n,other's love 
for her own offspring, who, in the hour of his co„ntr>--s peril 
went forth, perchance never more to return. 

Returning once more to the ndnntes of the Noventber meet- 
ing, we fin<l the following resolution, offered by Dr. Cassidv: 
"ResohrJ That the president appoint a special con,mittee 
whose duty .t shall be to exan.ine the following subjects and 
report to the board : ' 

■'First What additional fm-ni,„re and apparatus mav be 
used „, the school rootns for the use of teachers and pupils' 

Second The propriety of fornring a librarv and collection 
of tex-t-books on the art and science of school teaching for the 
use of directors, teachers and others. 

"Third, The propriety of establishing a svstem of object 
teaching m the primary and secondary schools 

"Fomh. What text-books, or books on the art and science 
of teaching slioukl be recommended to the teachers, to be the 
standard, or adopted by the board as a standar.I ? " 

The committee, at a later meeting, recommended " Ednca- 

..on-Iiite lectnal. Moral and Physical." by Herbert Spencer; 

The School aii.l the Schoolmaster," bv Bishop Potter- 

Bi-amard-s '■American Journal of Education"; Qc^den's 

Science of Education and Art of Teaching"; Northand's 

Teachers Assistant"; Wilson's " llanual of Instruction and 

Objee Teaching'; Calkin's "Lessons for Teachers and 

Parents ; Sheldon's "Elements of Instruction." It was 

further ^^^^ 



230 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" Resolved, That the followhig list of articles be procured 
whenever the appropriate committee shall feel satisfied that 
they are to be used to advantag'e by the teachers and profit by 
the pupils, namely : Racks, vestibules, portable and blackboards 
on the walls, tablets, charts, illustrative apparatus, cabinet col- 
lections in natural history, mineralogy, plants, seeds, etc. ; lad- 
ders, or steps, talc pencils, Holbrook's geometrical forms and 
arithmetic solids, cube root blocks, dissected cones, thermome- 
ters, magnetic needles, hemispheres, tellurian globes, foot rules, 
yard and graduated tape measures, scales and weights, dividers, 
liquid measure, chalk drawings, and such other apparatus as 
may be necessary for object teaching." 

It was furthermore specifically provided that in the second- 
ary and high schools " class instruction should be given in 
single entry bookkeeping, in order to fit boys for the every- 
day afifairs of a business life." Of more recent years, it would 
seem, this all-important subject has, in a measure, been allowed 
to drop out of the school curriculum ; for, only too frequently 
has it been claimed that few of our graduates, on leaving 
school, are capable of keeping a set of books in a business-like 
way, without being compelled to enter a " business college." 

Along the line of the board's recommendations, it was 

" Resolved, That a Library Committee be appointed, consist- 
ing of the president, secretary and treasurer, and the chairman 
of the Book Committee, as well as that of the Finance Com- 
mittee, who shall act with a similar committee, to be appointed 
by the Teachers' Institute; said committee to make all needful 
rules and regulations for the government of the same. Also, 
that an appropriation of fifty dollars be annually set apart for 
the purchase of such material as might be utilized to advan- 
tage." 

As many of the above-named appliances were expressly in- 
tended for the high schools, it is only reasonable to infer that 



DAWNING OF THE WAR PERIOD. 231 

they would encounter strong opposition, which unhappily was 
the result. It was the old, old question of " higher education " 
which had come regularly before the board in one shape or 
another, almost monthly from the time John F. Steinman 
moved for the establishing of these higher grade of schools. 

If interest at times was at a low ebb respecting other mat- 
ters bearing" on the school curriculum, the high schools gener- 
ally managed to furnish a prolific topic for prolonged discus- 
sion. 

In order to disarm my critics of any disposition of the author 
to reflect unfavorably on a subject that cannot be dismissed, 
if the school board's own records are to be faithfully adhered 
to, it is only necessary to refer to the minutes, notably to those 
of the early part of 1863, when John W. Jackson, hitherto a 
staunch supporter of higher education, offered the following 
resolution, with the results that followed : 

" Whereas, The male high school not having presented a 
single graduate this year, has failed to realize the just expec- 
tation of its friends in this board, and has lost the confidence 
of the community, as shown in the success of private schools, 
and the dwiudling away of its pupils to a number too small to 
justify the expense of its continuance as at present conducted. 

"Resolved, That said school be suspended for one year." 

This radical measure, while possibly not intended by its 
author to receive an affirmative adoption, resulted in the ap- 
pointment of a committee of five members (of which the presi- 
dent of the board was chairman) to investigate what defects 
or deficiencies, if any, exist in the management of the high 
schools and report at the next meeting of the board. This 
committee consisted of Messrs. Lightner, Reynolds, Wilson and 
Levergood. 

At a later meeting the committee made its report as follows : 
" The undersigned committee appointed to investigate what 



232 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

defects or deficiencies, if any, exist in the management of the 
high school, respectfully report : 

" That owing to the fact of the close of the annual school 
year soon after the appointment of the committee, no oppor- 
tunity was afforded for such visitation of the schools, and for 
observation for their practical working, as to enable the com- 
mittee to speak from personal knowledge : 

" The next best mode in the judgment of the committee of 
performing the duty assigned them was to appoint a time and 
place of meeting, and invite all whom it might concern to appear 
and lay before the committee for investigation as to their truth 
or falsity, whatever complaint or charges they might have to 
make respecting either the teachers, the management, order or 
discipline of the schools. Accordingly, such notice was given 
through the daily papers of the city, and in pursuance thereof 
the committee met at the room of the female high school on 
the morning of July 6. No persons other than the teachers 
of the two departments of the high schools appeared ; and the 
committee after having remained in session an hour or more, 
were obliged to adjourn, without the means of eliciting any 
facts touching the subject of their appointment. 

" As the committee was raised not to investigate any par- 
ticular or specific charges of misiuanagement, but simply in 
answer to general allegations made inside and outside of the 
board, that great public dissatisfaction existed with reference 
to the discipline and management of the high schools, and a 
full and fair opportunity having been presented for such dis- 
satisfaction to give itself a chance for investigation being given 
to all, the committee deem that it only remains to them, to ask 
to be discharged. They therefore submit the following reso- 
lution : 

" Resolved, That the committee be discharged from the 
further consideration of the subject committed to them." 



DAWNINC; OF THE WAR PERIOD. 233 

Thus was history repeating itself, and the committee re- 
Heved from another of those never-ceasing troubles, for which 
they were little prepared to find a proper solution. If the fore- 
going facts, with others yet to follow bearing on the same 
subject, may in the years to come tend to bring the Lancaster 
School Board into closer personal relationship with the needs 
of the high schools in a more careful study of their internal 
management, the telling of the story of their failure and suc- 
cesses, it is hoped, may not prove altogether in vain. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

NEWTON LIGHTNER, THE EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 

Newton Lightner Elected the Eighth President— H. S. Gara, the 
Fifth Secretary — Petition Presented, Calling for an Appropriation for 
the Support of the German School Connected with the German Lu- 
theran Evangelical Church — Resignation of Rev. I. S. Demund — Peti- 
tioning the Legislature to Restore the Act of 1850— Resolutions of 
Respect to the Memory of Dr. Patrick Cassidy — J. B. Livingston 
Elected the Ninth President — Tax Rate Increased to Eight Mills- 
Petition in favor of Vocal Music — Election of William B. Hall. 

At the May meeting, 1863, the following thirty-seven mem- 
bers answered the roll-call, indicating to the casual visitor that 
a matter of unusual importance was to occupy their attention : 
John L. Atlee, William Augustus Atlee, Henry Baumgardner, 
William P. Brinton, Henry Carpenter, William Carpenter, 
Patrick Cassidy, William Diller, J. Augustus Ehler, Henry 
Franke, H. S. Gara, Rev. T. W. Gerhart, Charles A. Heinitsh, 
D. Heitshu, John W. Jackson, David King, John Levergood, 
Newton Lightner, J. B. Livingston, Reuben H. Long, Peter 
McConomy, D. W. Patterson, F. R. Ranch, S. S. Rathvon, 
Samuel H. Reynolds, Charles F. Rengier, A. W. Russel, 
George Sanderson, George M. Steinman, James Stewart, A. 
Herr Smith, Hiram B. Swarr, D. G. Swartz, Rev. E. M. 
Thomas, William Whiteside, W. R. Wilson and Godfreid 
Zahm. 

As the eye passes over the above list of representative men 
of half a century ago, how many are yet living? Sad as it 
may seem, all have passed beyond the river of time except that 
of a single one who yet lingers on the shady side of life's 
river. Entering the councils of the board from all sections 
of the city, this more or less homogeneous body of citizens 
stood for all that was best in the line of educational develop- 

234 




NEWTON LIGHTNER. 



NEWTON LIGIITNER, JllE 8TH PRESIDENT. 235 

ment. They may have been swayed at times in accordance 
with tlieir i)()litical environments, and yet their names will go 
down to posterity as men embned with a desire to discharge 
their duties to the best of their understanding. 

After the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting, 
the board proceeded to the election of president. D. Cassidy 
nominated Dr. John Atlee, and Mr. Wilson, Newton Lightner, 
who received twenty votes to Dr. Atlee's seventeen, and w^as 
declared the Eighth President of the Lancaster School Board. 
The organization was then completed by the unanimous elec- 
tion of H. S. Gara, who became the Fifth Secretary, Peter 
M'Conomy, Treasurer, and ATathias Zahm, Messenger. 

]\Ir. Lightner had a somewhat varied career as director of 
schools. He was first appointed, May 25, 1848, to fill the 
vacancy caused by the resignation of the Rev. Samuel Bow- 
man, serving until said gentleman's term expired in 1850. In 
May of that year, as will be recalled, the special law for Lan- 
caster School District went into operation. Mr. Lightner was 
not, however, one of the thirty-six directors elected by the 
people. At the August meeting following he was again elected 
to fill a vacancy, and served until March, 1853, when he was 
elected president of common council. 

By virtue of the law then in force, the mayor and presidents 
of councils were ex-of^cio members of the board. At this 
March meeting Mr. Lightner resigned his elective membership, 
but remained a member ex-officio until P^ebruary, 1855, when 
Dr. Henry Carpenter, having been elected a member of select 
council, Mr. Lightner's ex-officio membership expired. On 
the May following, he was for the third time elected by the 
board to take the place of Rev. Henry A. Schultze, resigned. 
At the next ensuing election of directors, on the sixth of May, 
1856, he was elected by the people for three years, and was 
reelected in 1859 and again in 1862. 

Mr. Lightner never sought the office of director that so 



236 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

frequently fell in his way. It was felt that his services could 
not well be dispensed with ; for he was repeatedly called upon 
to act as president pro tcm. After his two years as presiding 
officer expired, he served until 1865, when he declined a re- 
election. 

Newton Lightner was born in Williamstown, this county, 
November, 1813; graduated at Princeton in 1833, after which 
he entered the law office of John R. Montgomery, Esq., and 
read law with him until 1836, when he was admitted to the 
bar. He remained in active practice until a short time before 
his death, which occurred in this city November 8, 1889. 

Few men were of a happier disposition than Mr. Lightner, 
who had a way of getting most out of life in the midst of his 
active career as an attorney-at-law. A good concert, opera 
or drama; a game of ball or billiards, had a peculiar fascina- 
tion for his restless temperament. Being of a genial nature 
he was of easy approach, as many of the older teachers can 
well recall. 

His humor was not confined to any one occasion in particu- 
lar ; it was liable to manifest itself in places of worship, where 
his thoughts should have been centered on things more spirit- 
ual. At one time, he remarked in a whisper to a friend sitting 
by his side during church service: " If only those bald heads 
in front of me were billiard balls, how easily could I make a 
carom and win out the game." On another occasion, seeing 
a friend on the fair grounds shivering from cold, he exchanged 
his own heavy overcoat for his friend's linen duster, not dis- 
covering the change in his own apparel until reminded later 
while on the way to his office. The most serious of life's ups 
and downs had for him their humorous side, out of which he 
drew a certain consolation. 

In this particular, he was no exception: in and out of the 
school board, were other companionable spirits — men who 
managed to get the most out of life, and with whom Mr. Light- 



21 




H, S. GARA. 



NEWTON LIGHTNER, THE 8TII PRESIDENT. 237 

ner loved to mingle. Gradually, however, with the passing of 
old customs, and men of his day and generation, there passed 
also nuich of the humor and si)ice of life at one time so con- 
spicuous in our old town. Tn this strenuous age, in which so 
many lose their lives in the struggle after the unattainable, 
there is little left of that oldentime simplicity of character, and 
social intercourse, so conspicuous among men of the type of 
William Carpenter, " Billy " Morton, and Newton Lightner. 

Hugh S. Gara entered the board on the fourth of Decem- 
ber, 1862, to till a vacancy. He was on the board but a short 
time when he was elected secretary, as the successor of Wil- 
liam P). Wiley. After the expiration of his secretaryship, he 
was appointed a member of the superintending committee. 
He retired from the board in 1871. That he was an accurate 
and painstaking recorder, the minutes go to prove ; also the 
resolution offered by Dr. Henry Carpenter, complimenting him 
" for the able, correct and courteous manner in which he had 
discharged the duties of his office." 

Mr. Gara was born March 28, 1819, in East Lampeter town- 
ship, where as a boy he attended school. He came to Lan- 
caster years later, and along in the fifties engaged in the in- 
surance business, which he followed almost to the time of his 
death, March 9, 1896. 

At the March meeting of 1864, there were thirty-five mem- 
bers present — another important meeting. After the roll-call 
and the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting, Dr. 
Atlee, chairman of the Superintending Committee, made re- 
port on the petition, submitted at a previous meeting, asking 
for an appropriation toward the support of the *' German 
Evangelical Lutheran School " of this city. 

As no other one subject, along in the sixties, was more pro- 
ductive of debate than the teaching of the German language 
as a separate and distinct branch in our city schools, the report 
of the committee, with others to follow, may not be without 



238 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

its value, even to those yet living, who participated, either 
directly or indirectly, in the protracted struggle. 

The report reads as follows : " The Superintending Commit- 
tee, to whom was referred the petition of some of the citizens 
of Lancaster, asking the board of school directors of Lancas- 
ter ' to grant an annual appropriation for the support of the 
German school connected with the German Lutheran Evan- 
gelical church,' respectfully report. That according to the pro- 
visions of the General Common School Laws, and the laws 
establishing common schools in this city, the directors shall 
establish a sufficient number of common schools for the edu- 
cation of every individual between the ages of six and twenty- 
one years ; that they shall exercise a general supervision over 
said schools, and shall, one or more of the members of said 
board, visit them at least once in each month ; and that they 
shall have the appointment of all teachers of said schools, fix 
the amount of their salaries, and may dismiss them for cause ; 
that they shall direct what branches of learning shall be taught 
in each school, and what books shall be used, and may suspend 
from school all pupils found guilty of improper conduct. 

" According to the provisions of the same laws, the superin- 
tendent of common schools is directed to draw his warrant upon 
the State Treasurer for the amount of the State Appropria- 
tion. When this has been received at his office at Harrisburg, 
a certificate signed and sworn to by the president of this board, 
that the schools have been kept open according to the pro- 
visions of the law ; and also that no teacher has been employed 
or had charge of any such school during the year without valid 
certificate from the County Superintendent. If such certifi- 
cate be not received, the State Appropriation cannot be paid ; 
and if any of the schools are not conducted according to the 
above provisions, the president of the board cannot sign such 
certificate. 

" The Superintending Committee are, therefore, unani- 



NEWTON LlGllTNER, THE 8Tli PRESIDENT. 239 

mously of the opinion that the school law confers on directors 
no authority to appropriate funds for any other purpose, nor 
in any other way, than that indicated aljovc ; and that this 
board cannot legally appropriate public money for the support 
of any school over which it has not exclusive control. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

"John L. Atlee, 
" Isaac S. Demund, 
"J. P.. Livingston, 

"H. B. SWARR, 

" P. Cassidy." 

After the reading- of the resolution, it was 

" Rcsok'cd, That the Board decline acceding- to the request 
of the petition of citizens for any annual appropriation toward 
the support of a school in connection with the German Evan- 
gelical Lutheran church, for the reasons stated in the report 
of the Superintending- Committee." 

Although defeated in this first efifort to establish an English 
and German public school by the force of such logic as the 
chairman had produced, the advocates of the measure did not 
by any means lose heart. Instead they formulated another 
series of resolutions at a later meeting, more strictly within 
the letter of the law, over which, as the minutes will show, a 
prolonged and acrimonious discussion followed. 

The Rev. I. S. Demund now submitted his resignation as a 
member of the board, which was accepted and a resolution of 
thanks tendered him for the faithful discharge of his duties. 
Following, came the resignation of Mr. R. F. Ranch, when it 
was 

" Resolved, That the thanks of the board are due, and are 
hereby extended to him for the faithful and conscientious dis- 
charge of all the duties appertaining to his position as director, 
which he so long filled to the entire satisfaction not onlv of 



240 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

his colleagues, but of the public whose confidence he largely 
possessed ; that his late associates part with him with the deep- 
est regret, losing by his removal and retirement, one of the 
sincerest friends and co-workers in the cause of public edu- 
cation." 

If, therefore, one or more zealous workers had severed his 
connection with the board, another, of equal merit, was imme- 
diately elected to the vacancy, namely, Luther Richards, whose 
pleasing address, and kindly nature was to prove an inspira- 
tion to all who came within his personal magnetism. 

On March lo, following, an adjourned meeting was held, 
its purpose being the consideration of a resolution ofifered by 
Dr. Cassidy, at the previous meeting, viz. : 

"Resolved, That the board petition the Legislature to pass 
an amendatory act, so as to place this School District in the 
independent condition which it enjoyed under the act of 1850." 

Mr. Patterson ofifered the following amendment, " With a 
proviso, that the city be secured in her right to its proportion 
of the annual school-fund appropriation." On the adoption 
of the resolution as amended, Messrs. Richards, Wilson, Pat- 
terson, Cassidy and Swarr were appointed a committee to draw 
up the petition and attend to procuring the repeal of the above- 
mentioned act. 

Fruitless, indeed, were the efiforts of the committee to secure 
the reinstatement of the laws under which the board had pre- 
viously been operating, especially under the proviso, " that the 
city be secured in her right to its proportion of the annual 
school-fund appropriation." The day had passed, and pos- 
sibly, forever, when the Lancaster City School Board was to 
have restored its former laws without the loss of the annual 
State appropriation. 

A communication from Miss Annie Hartman was read, in 
which she resigned her position as assistant teacher in the girls' 



NEWTON LIGHTNER, THE .SITl PRESIDENT. 241 

liigh schiK)! ; in reply to which the president was directed to 
tender Miss Hartman the thanks of tlie board for her faithful 
services. To this position Miss Sarah li. Bundell was unani- 
mously elected. 

At a special meeting' held on the evening of July 13, with 
Mr. Lightner in the chair, the following preamble and resolu- 
tions were ofifered by Dr. Atlee, accompanied by a tender and 
touching address, and having been seconded with feeling and 
appropriate remarks by Messrs. Sanderson, Wilson, Reynolds 
and others, were unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God, in the dispensa- 
tion of His Providence to remove from among us, after a brief 
illness. Dr. Patrick Cassidy, for many years a member of this 
Board; and, 

" Whereas, By his great devotion to the cause of common 
school education in this city, his unwearied attention to all his 
duties, as a director and member of the Superintending Com- 
mittee, his gentlemanly deportment, and high character as a 
man and citizen. Dr. Cassidy had acc^uired the respect and 
esteem of his fellow-members, be it, therefore, 

" Resolved, That this board receives with profound regret 
the intelligence of the decease of our late fellow member. 

" Resolved, That as a testimony of our respect and esteem, 
we will, in a body, accompany his remains to their last resting 
place. 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be signed by the 
officers of the board, and respectfully presented to his family. 

" Resolved, That the pupils of the high schools and the 
transferred pupils of the secondary schools join us in attend- 
ing the funeral ; also, with the request that the papers of the 
city copy the proceedings of this meeting." 

At the organization of the board. May 4, 1865, there were 
but twenty members present, indicating that nothing of special 
interest was to engross their attention. For temporary presi- 



242 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

dent, Robert A. Evans was called to the chair, when, after the 
roll-call and reading of the minutes of the previous meeting, 
Col. Patterson nominated Dr. John L. Atlee for presiding 
officer for the ensuing year, who declined the position for want 
of time to attend to the duties of the office, whereupon Mr. 
Sanderson nominated John B. Livingston, who was unani- 
mously elected the AUiifh President to occupy this important 
position. The organization was completed by the reelection 
of Mr. Gara for Secretary, Peter M'Conomy, Treasurer, and 
Mathias Zahm, Messenger. 

John B. Livingston, whom all delight to recall in the zenith 
of his young manhood, became a member of the board in 1856, 
filling the unexpired term of Joshua W. Jack, who, having 
been elected president of common council, continued his seat 
as ex-officio member. On the third of May, 1859, Mr. Liv- 
ingston was reelected, and again in 1862 for three years. At 
the close of his first term as president, he tendered his resig- 
nation as a member of the board. A resolution was passed, 
however, requesting him to withdraw the same. This being 
accomplished, he was reelected president for another year. 
Regardless of the proffered compliment, he declined the honor, 
when, at the next meeting his resignation as a member was 
accepted. 

Mr. Livingston was born in Salisbury township, October 14, 
1 82 1 ; at twenty he became a teacher in the same district, where 
he taught four terms. Li 1845, l''^ h^d partly determined on 
the study of medicine, but exchanged this for the study of the 
law. In reply to a letter from young Livingston, inquiring 
whether he had room for a young student, and if so his terms, 
Mr. Stevens replied in his brief, characteristic way : " Have 
room; terms, $200; some pay, some don't." Entering Mr. 
Stevens' office January 4, 1846, he hung out his shingle in 1848 
as an " attorney-at-law," on East Orange near North Queen 
street ; and like most young attorneys, sat himself down for a 




HON. J. B. LIVINGSTON. 



NEWTON LIGllTNER, THE STH PRESIDENT. 243 

time with Blackstone as his daily companion. Of his after- 
success as a nx'mber of the l)ar, and later as the President 
Judge of the County of Lancaster, it is not the place here to 
speak. 

Let us then revere the memory of John B. Livingston's 
active manhood before the vicissitudes consecjuent to old age 
began to bear in hard upon his declining years. 

At the meeting of July 13, 1866, the annual report of the 
Superintending Committee, which, it will be recalled, was read 
at the High School Commencement the same morning, was 
read by the secretary at the board's meeting, showing the con- 
dition of the schools. This report, of so much interest more 
than a third of a century ago, is herein reproduced. It con- 
tains nuich valuable material, as apropos in this year 1904 as 
during those stringent times. 

The report is as follows : " The schools are divided into high, 
secondary and primary. There are in all twenty-five schools 
— two high — one for each sex ; four secondaries and nineteen 
primaries ; eight of which are now combined and eleven are 
single. The greater part of the latter are being changed into 
the former. There is also one school without grade, for the 
education of children of color. 

" These schools employ fifty-one teachers — four males and 
forty-seven females — two in each of the high schools, three in 
each of the secondaries, one in each of the single primaries 
and three in each of the combined primaries. There were two 
thousand, five hundred and sixty-four (2,564) children taught 
in these schools during the year ending with the first Monday 
in June last. The expenditures incurred for educational pur- 
poses appear to have been nineteen thousand, five hundred and 
ninety-six dollars and ninety-nine cents ($19,596.99), thereby 
fixing the average cost of each pupil at $7.14; and at a cost 
of each of the four thousand, seven hundred and fifty (4,750) 
taxable inhabitants of the citv of four dollars and eleven cents 



244 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

($4.11). These figures are given to show the public the true 
state of the subject matter, considered from a pecuniary point 
of view. 

" The question may be fairly asked whether a system of 
public instruction that supplies the educational wants of a city 
like ours, and which starts the pupil with the alphabet, carries 
him through all the grades, covering a period of ten or eleven 
years, and leaves him in the possession of a good academic 
acquirement, and at the average cost of less than two dollars 
and a c[uarter, can justly be charged with extravagance? The 
increased taxation for the year we have now entered upon is 
mainly required for the purchase of ground and the building 
and alteration of school houses, which is money not spent but 
invested. The want of room has long been felt, and created 
the necessity of forcing scholars from lower schools where 
they should have been kept a longer period to schools of a 
higher grade, where they should not have been admitted — for 
want of the necessary qualifications as fixed by the rules and 
curriculum of studies. 

" The difficulty, it is hoped, will be obviated by the creation 
of more school room, now in progress of construction. It 
will readily be seen, however, that the enforcement of this 
rule on the first occasion creates the natural impression tha^ 
since there are not the same number of transfers and gradu- 
ates, the schools have fallen back, instead of advanced. Such 
is not the case ; the pressure having ended, the board feel that 
it should enforce the standard required and make them better 
scholars in the end. 

" For reasons already foreshadowed, there are no graduates 
this commencement in the boys' high school. It is believed 
the class stands as well as the class last year, and the board 
commend the young gentlemen for remaining and striving for 
a higher standard of scholarship than their predecessors. Of 
the eleven graduates of the female high school, a great portion 



NEWTON LIGPITNER, THE 8TH PRESIDENT. 245 

have been elected to positions as teachers, by which fact the 
board showed its appreciation of the vahie of the school as 
well as the individual worth of the graduates. The high 
schools have, as it were, become educational reservoirs from 
which are being- supplied mainly the teaching- force of our pri- 
mary schools, which fact should speak well in their favor 

The question may naturally arise why the Superintending 
Committee considered it necessary to present to the public such 
an elaborate statement? It was, however, but the natural 
sequence following- the report of the Finance Committee at 
the May meeting previous, and which deserves another mo- 
ment of the reader's attention. 

" Anticipating an increase of teachers' salaries, and neces- 
sary improvements calculated to increase our expenses beyond 
those of former years, we are constrained to recommend the 
raising of the tax-rate to six mills on the dollar. This, on a 
valuation of $3,859,210, making a very lil)eral allowance for 
errors and exonerations, commissions for abatement for 
prompt payment of taxes, should produce $20,000. To this 
must be added the State Appropriation of $1,600, with prob- 
able balance from last year of $1,000, making our total re- 
ceipts $24,000." 

If thus far the tax-rate was sufficient to startle the public 
as well as the conservative members of the board — the highest 
figure it had ever reached — mark the continuance of the re- 
port : " As it appears evident our increasing population will 
in a short time render necessary the providing additional ac- 
comniodations for the children, which will require the purchase 
of more property, and the erection of additional school houses, 
we recommend the assessment of a tax of two mills on the 
dollar for building purposes. This should produce on the 
same calculation as that for ordinary expenses an additional 
amount of $7,000. This is the first time such a tax has been 
levied in our district, and as a reason in favor of it, it mav 



246 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

be proper to state that much of the financial embarrassment 
of the board in former years grew out of the fact that property 
was purchased and houses erected, either from money reahzed 
from short loans or out of the funds raised by taxation for the 
current expenses of the schools. It may seem high, but if 
raised, it does not follow that it shall all be expended this 
year. The time appears to us to have arrived when the board 
should look around and secure suitable property for their 
future needs while it can be had at reasonable prices. Some 
of our schools are quite too constrained for want of sufficient 
grounds, and it is time means were provided and measures 
taken to relieve them. Here are also repairs and improve- 
ments necessary, far too expensive to be paid out of the ordi- 
nary appropriation of three or four hundred dollars for such 
purposes in each year, which, if the means were provided for, 
it might be economy to make them now. 

" Your committee counsel no extravagance, and will oppose 
all unnecessary expenses, as sternly as they did when our treas- 
ury was suffering its greatest difficulties. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

"John W. Jackson, 
" G. Zahm, 
"' Finance Coniniittcc." 

Accompanying the report was the following resolution 
which was unanimously adopted : 

" Resolved, That for the ensuing }ear commencing with the 
first of June, 1866, the rate of taxation for ordinary school 
purposes in the Lancaster city school district, shall be assessed 
six mills on the dollar valuation, and that an additional tax 
of two mills on the dollar shall be assessed for building pur- 
poses for the same period on the real estate of the district, 
and on all other subjects at the rate fixed by law." 

Of all the financial statements ever presented to the Lan- 
caster School Board, none was more prophetical of coming 



NEWTON LIGHTNER, THE 8TH PRESIDENT. 247 

events than that of the Finance Committee of 1866. It was 
a forecast of the future made by the far-sighted chairman, 
John W. Jackson. He prophesied what has since happened — 
the need of purchasing school lots when they could be had at 
reasonable price, instead of deferring- such purchases to a time 
when d()ul)le and treljle the price was demanded. 

What might have resulted had the Finance Committee rec- 
ommended an increase in the real estate valuation for school 
purposes, instead of in the tax-rate, is not so clear. Experi- 
ence had no doubt taught Mr. Jackson that, while the great 
majority of taxpayers were not vuiwilling to stand an increased 
rate, to suggest the raising or the equalizing of property valua- 
tion (which in n^any instances was scarcely more than one- 
third of its market value ) meant a prolonged struggle at the 
next election for directors. 

To relieve in a measure the financial strain superinduced b}' 
the consideration of the h'inance Committee's report and the 
Superintending Com.mittee's annual statement, and possibly to 
make the board forgetful of the coming of the tax collector 
in his weekly rounds, Mr. Patterson ofifered the following pre- 
amble and resolution, which he took occasion to say " he de- 
sired to lay over until the next meeting to give the members 
an opportunity to consider the matter." 

" Whereas, It is the desire of the Board of School Directors 
to l)ring the pupils in the high schools, and especially the 
graduates thereof, up to the highest standard of efficiency in 
the programme of studies established therein by the rules of 
the board ; therefore, 

" Rcsolz'cd, That it is the judgment of the board that no 
general transfer of pupils in the secondary schools should be 
made to the high schools this year." 

This resolution fell with startling effect upon the ears of 
the members, who were little prepared to accept with resigna- 
tion a measure so radical in its tendency. " Motions to lay 
on the table, adjourn, postpone, postpone to the next meeting, 



248 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

postpone indefinitely, were made. Discussion on points of 
order followed, during which a motion for adjournment was 
twice called for and lost." The vote being taken by ayes and 
nays, the resolution was finally postponed to the next stated 
or special meeting. The board then adjourned to meet at the 
call of the president, for the purpose of receiving the report 
of the committee to whom was referred the erection of a build- 
ing for a female secondary school. 

At this special meeting, it is only necessary to say, it was 
resolved to recommend to the Superintending Committee " to 
permit hereafter no transfer of pupils unless said pupils pos- 
sess the cjualifications prescribed by the rules of the board." 
It was further resolved, " that as there are only nineteen mem- 
bers present, when the rules require twenty for the erection 
of school houses, that part of the committee's report could not 
be acted upon." 

After some half-dozen meetings, with much diversity of 
opinion, pro and con, the Property Committee's report was 
adopted, as follows : " That they had awarded the contract for 
the building of a new combined primary school on the lot on 
Vine street, and for the altering of two single primary schools, 
one on Duke, the other on Lemon, into combined primaries, 
to George Yeisley for $2,385. Following these changes, all 
the other primary schools were made to conform to those on 
Duke and Lemon, in order " to make the system of graded 
schools more uniform and complete." It was furthermore 

'' Resolved, That the high schools continue in their present 
state of organization until otherwise ordered, unless the board 
deem it obligatory upon them at the present time to make some 
change in the teaching force of the female department of the 
high school." Dr. Atlee moved as a substitute " that the com- 
mittee on school property be directed forthwith to remove the 
secondary school from the second floor of the high school 
building and prepare it exclusively for the high school : not 
agreed to." William A. Atlee proposed to strike out from the 



NEWTON LIGHTNER, THE 8TH PRESIDENT. 249 

resolution the word " org-anization," which was agreed to, and 
the measure as amended was adopted. 

\\'hile the hoard had their troul^les of a financial nature, 
the teachers were engaged in looking after vocal culture. It 
will be recalled that in the year 1838, Louis C. Jungerich of- 
fered a resolution for the introduction of vocal music into the 
public schools of this city ; and that the board agreed to have 
it introduced into the primary schools on condition that the 
children contribute daily one cent to compensate the music 
instructor in charge. From this small beginning, vocal music 
has been gradually introduced into all the schools. It was, 
however, not until the year 1866 that the following much- 
signed petition was presented to the Superintending Com- 
mittee : 

" Gciiflciiicn: The undersigned teachers employed in the 
high and secondary schools of our city, do hereby respectfully 
urge upon the notice of your honorable committee, the im- 
portance of the subject of vocal music, and request that the 
services of a thoroughly competent instructor be secured, for 
the schools whose claims we respectfully represent. In this 
connection we would suggest the name of Professor William 
B. Hall, as such competent instructor. That the item of ex- 
pense may not appear formidable, we would suggest that he 
be employed to give instruction on Tuesdays and Thursdays 
only, in the six schools of advanced grades as represented ; and 
that one evening of each week be set apart for free instruction 
in vocal music to all the teachers in the city, who desire to 
avail themselves of the opportunity thus presented. The pri- 
vate schools of the city add to their popularity and real excel- 
lence by employing the services of the gentleman named above, 
and in this department our public schools sulYer by contrast. 

" The rules and regulations adopted by the board make 
provision for instruction in vocal music; but proper scientific 
training of the vocal organs is unknown in our schools, for the 
22 



250 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

reason that not one of your petitioners possesses the qualifi- 
cations requisite for this important work. There is singing 
by car, it is true, in many of our schools, and we regard this 
as valuable, both as a means of relaxation, and because of its 
refining influence upon the minds of our pupils ; but even where 
such instruction is most successful, there, more than elsewhere 
besides, is felt the urgent necessity for better training — some- 
thing which shall be of permanent value and a lifelong source 
of gratification. 

" The judgment of those best qualified to decide upon the 
merits of this kind of instruction from a long experience of 
its benefits, is that no money can be expended to better advan- 
tage, upon the public schools than that which goes toward the 
salary of a faithful, thoroughly competent instructor in vocal 
music. This has been the experience of the best public schools, 
both in Europe and in our own country, in many of which the 
pupils read the scales and accompanying notes with equal 
facility. 

" Proper instruction of this character would render the 
school-room more attractive to our pupils, would serve to 
awaken a more lively interest on the part of the public, and 
would at the same time render the system popular with many 
of our citizens who do not now estimate its true value. Nor 
should any private city school be enabled to hold out stronger 
inducements, in an educational point of view, than those whose 
doors are thrown open to all. The free school should tolerate 
no superior claim upon the public notice, at least, not in so 
far as the variety and excellence of its educational facilities 
are concerned. 

" Very Respectfully, 
" J. P. McCaskey, J. B. Kremer, C. C. Zinsser, S. H. Bundell, 

M. Markee, V. Witwer, M. Jeffres, M. A. Davis, E. 

Meixell, F. A. Andrews, William Riddle, Kate Lemon, 

A. M. Coyle, Benjamin Ruth, Jennie E. Ferry, Margie 

Miller." 



NEWTON LlGllTNER, THE SITI PRESIDENT. 251 

Nearly forty years have rolled by since this petition came 
before the board for action. Whether the most sanguine ex- 
pectations of the signers have been fully realized during the 
years that have come and gone, in giving " proper, scientific 
training of the vocal organs," time has fully determined. The 
money invested in this direction, however, while possibly not 
giving the highest results from a scientific point of view, in 
changing the habit of singing by " ear " to that of singing by 
note, has nevertheless been money well expended in rendering 
the school room " more attractive to the pupils." 

William B. Hall, the first regularly employed instructor of 
music in the public schools of this city, was a man of many 
endearing traits of character, a most lovable companion, espe- 
cially among those whose esthetic tastes were like unto his 
own. Reaching Lancaster shortly after the close of the war, 
he was ever ready to lend a helping hand to every musical 
concert given for charitable purposes. ]\Iany of the songs he 
sang from the stage in Fulton Hall in his sweet, melodious 
tone, are still remembered by those, whose cultured ears bound 
them together, one and inseparable. 

Of his successor, John B. Kevinskie, known to every boy and 
girl within the environs of our city, what can be said that is 
not already known to old and young. It takes one familiar 
with the war period, however, to recall the man who at all 
times stood ready to render every assistance in all public en- 
terprises for the benefit of the boys in " blue " fighting for their 
country on some far-away field. It is well that these generous 
acts of self-sacrificing devotion in times of peril should not be 
entirely forgotten. The tendency, however, would seem to be 
entirely the reverse in this stirring age, when the man who is 
remembered to-day is forgotten to-morrow. 

Of Professor Carl Matz, who has been a resident of this city 
for a score of years, little need be said ; as a teacher and scholar, 
his name has become a household word. 



252 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Carl Thorbahn, another thoroughly trained musician of the 
Fatherland, a careful instructor, has been connected with the 
High School orchestra for many years. 

To get back to the thread of my story. It has been said, 
that one of the reasons for an increased tax-rate was the antici- 
pated raising of the teachers' salaries, which had been reduced 
some years previous to a point not forever to be endured with 
becoming resignation. At the June meeting Mr. John J. Coch- 
ran moved to fix the teachers' salaries, whereupon Mr. Jackson 
ofi^ered the following which was adopted without a dissenting 
vote against the measure : 

," Resolved, That the salaries of the teachers in the schools 
of the Lancaster City School District, for the year commencing 
with the first Monday of September, 1886, shall be as follows, 
viz. : 

" First assistant of the boys' high school, $900 ; second assist- 
ant, same school, $700 ; first assistant, girls", $500 ; second 
assistant, girls', $400 ; two principals, boys' secondary, each 
$600 ; and that $50 shall be added to the present salary of each 
of the other teachers to be employed by this board." 

This matter being determined on without deljate, amend- 
ment, or delay, the following communication from Mr. David 
Evans, Superintendent of Public Schools of city and county, 
was read : 

"Gentlemen: Having finished the examination and issued 
certificates to the applicants, I thought it would be acceptable 
to the board to present them a statement of comparative results 
of the last two examinations. In all. forty-two applicants were 
examined, of whom twenty-nine are now in the employ of the 
Board, three have taught in the county outside of Lancaster, 
and ten appeared for the first time as candidates for schools. 
For the result of the examination and standing of the appli- 
cants now, and as compared with the standing of the same 



NEWTON LIGHTNER, THE 8TH PRESIDENT. 253 

individuals for last year, the attention of the board is directed • 
to the tabular statement. I have the pleasure also of informing- 
the board that at a special examination of applicants for pro- 
fessional certificates, held during the spring, the following 
named persons were found to possess the necessary qualifica- 
tions to enable them to hold that paper : Misses Annie E. 
Scovern, F. A. Andrews, and Sarah Murphy. Should, the 
board agree with me in my conclusions in regard to the merits 
of these teachers, and certify to their professional industry and 
skill in the practise of teaching, it will be a pleasure to me to 
grant a certificate to each of them. 

" Respectively submitted, 

" David Evans, 
" County Stipcn'nfciidcnf." 
Lancaster, July 4, 1866. 

After the reading of the communication it was 

" Resolved, That this board do certify that the teachers 
above-named are faithful and efficient practical teachers and 
we therefore recommend the granting of permanent certificates 
by the County Superintendent to them." 

The reader will observe from the foregoing comnnmication 
addressed to the Lancaster School Board, that the conditions, 
down to the year 1880, were somewhat different from now. 
Then the functions of City Superintendent were performed by 
the superintendent of the county and city, upon whose judg- 
ment the board was compelled to rely for any information re- 
specting the standing of their own teaching force. 

At the November meeting of this same year, the Superin- 
tending Committee made the following report on a subject, 
liithcrto referred to — that of providing for the teaching of the 
German language. Another resolution bearing on this subject 
had been referred to the Superintending Committee the meet- 
ing previous ; and it now became the order of the evening, 



254 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

namely : " That they have had the subject under advisement 
and submit the following for consideration : The common 
schools of Pennsylvania were founded upon the principle that 
the state is bound to educate all her children ; and that for this 
purpose all her citizens should contribute in proportion to 
their means, to secure this great object ; that the safety and 
security of the Republic depends upon the virtue and intelli- 
gence of the people ; and that, in proportion that these ends 
are obtained, will be their prosperity and power. 

" The common schools of this city, containing twenty-live 
hundred pupils, are supported by a small appropriation from 
the state ; and by much larger funds obtained by the assess- 
ment of taxes upon the citizens, a very large proportion of 
whom use, almost exclusively, the English language. It is the 
language of the great business interests of the state and coun- 
try, of our courts, our legislature ; and very largely of social 
life. In one word, it is the national language ; and therefore, 
that which is to be taught in our common schools. 

" The course of elementary studies prescribed by the com- 
mon school law, and adopted by the board, in the primary and 
secondary departments, is one which all experience proves to 
be the best for preparing the minds of the pupils for the great 
business of their future lives ; and the time allotted for instruc- 
tion Is barely sufficient for the acquisition of all the branches 
taught, and for the completion of what is considered a common 
school education. Were additional instruction to be given in 
the German language, it would necessarily be a sacrifice of one 
or more of the branches essential in the course, and to the 
prejudice of a very large majority of the pupils. The expense 
of additional teachers moreover, could not be borne by the board 
as all the means obtained from the sources above-mentioned are 
expended in securing the object of an elementary English 
education. 



NEWTON LIGIITNER, 'J-RE STII PRESIDENT. 255 

" Our German fellow citizens may well be proud of the lan- 
guage of their Fatherland. It is the most copious and flexible 
of all the living languages; and its contributions to science, 
literature and the arts are quite equal, if not in some respects 
superior, to those of any modern tongue. As a branch of fin- 
ished education, it is taught in our high schools ; and all the 
pupils there can acquire a knowledge of it; but neither time 
nor expense would permit the introduction of it into the lower 
departments. 

" Nor, with all due respect for the opinions and wishes of 
our fellow citizens, do we deem it expedient to grant their 
petition. From the best authority we have ascertained that 
the experiment has several times, and in other places, been 
made, and subsequently relinquished at the solicitation of those 
who originally desired it. The sooner the children of our 
adopted citizens acquire a practical knowledge of the common 
language of the country, and, through it, a familiarity with the 
habits, manners, customs and opinions of the community in 
which they live, the sooner will they become qualified to com- 
pete in the great battle of life with the children of native citi- 
zens ; and when, as in our free country, the road to wealth, 
to honor, and to position and influence is open to all, he who 
is well-fitted by well-grounded elementary instruction in the 
common language of the country will soonest obtain the goal 
he aims at, and render himself useful, honorable and inde- 
pendent. 

" From these considerations the committee with due defer- 
ence to the opinions of their fellow citizens, respectfully recom- 
mend the adoption of the following resolutions: 

"Resolved, That it is inexpedient to grant the prayer of 
the petitioners ; and with the limited means at the command of 
the board, impracticable. 



256 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" Resolved, That the committee be discharged from the 
further consideration of the subject. 

" John L. Atlee, 
" Samuel H. Reynolds, 
" Luther Richards, 
" Daniel G. Baker, 
" D. W. Patterson, 
" Superintending Coniniittee. 
" Lancaster, November i, 1866." 

While no action was taken on the foregoing report, so ably 
set forth by the chairman, it need not be presumed that no fur- 
ther action would be taken by the friends and supporters of the 
English-German school. It was later, as the reader shall learn, 
to become an issue in which the political factor entered largely. 




WILLIAM P. BRINTON. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLTSH SCHOOLS. 

William P. Brinton the Tenth President — Frederick S. Pyfer the 
Sixth Secretary — Resignations of John L. Atlee and Godfried Zahm — 
More Trouble for the Boys' and Girls' High Schools — Another Report 
in Favor of a Combined German-English School — Amendment of Rules 
Forbidding the Receiving of Presents by Teachers from Pupils — Organ- 
ization of Board under New Charter — Resignation of Miss Christie 
Musser — Resolution of Regret on the Death of Dr. D. McCormick — 
Move to erect a School House on the "Old Factory Road." 

From the time of the meeting of November i, 1866, until 
that of July 4, 1867, little of importance occurred in the school 
board's deliberations ; the all-absorbing question of teaching 
the German language as a separate and distinct branch of the 
school curriculum having now become the issue to be deter- 
mined at the polls. Many of those who, at previous times, 
opposed the teaching of the classics, were now among the 
deepest interested in establishing one or more schools for the 
teaching of the German as a separate study. 

At the July meeting, j\lr. William P. Brinton, who had been 
elected to serve out J\Ir. Livingston's unexpired term of office, 
on his refusal longer to serve, was elected without opposition 
to be the Tenth President, to which position he was elected 
annually for seven consecutive years. The further organiza- 
tion was completed by the election of Frederick S. Pyfer the 
Sixth Secretary, Peter M'Conomy continued Treasurer and 
INIathias Zahm, Messenger. 

Entering the board May i, 1863, Mr. Brinton was reelected 
in 1866 and remained a member until 1878, when he retired. 
These were troubled times, requiring discretion, tact and 
knowledge of parliamentary law on the part of the presiding 
officer. These cjualities the new president possessed to a 
marked degree. 

257 



258 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Mr. Brinton was born on the twentieth of June, 1824, at 
the old family mansion on the Brandywine. In November, 
1 84 1, he entered the freshman class at Washington College. 
He commenced the study of law in the office of the late H. G. 
Long, of this city, where he resided until the time of his death, 
which occurred on the thirteenth day of April, 1888, in the 
sixty-fourth year of his age. 

Frederick S. Pyfer was elected a member of the board in 
May of this year, 1867, and to the office of secretary at the 
following July meeting, serving in this capacity until October, 
1 87 1, when he was succeeded by William A. Morton. He 
retired from the board in 1875, and died November 23, 1878. 
Of his early life as a student at the Marietta academy 
under the late J. P. Wickersham, and later at the Millersville 
Normal School, also as a teacher in the schools of Columbia, 
Lancaster county, and of his war record much more might 
be said. 

Mr. M'Conomy, in tendering his thanks to the board for 
their continued support and confidence, took occasion to say 
that " he had served twenty-nine years as a school director, 
during twenty-two of which he had held the office of treasurer. 
He had served under the former system and was now the only 
member who could say so except John L. Atlee, who, he under- 
stood, intended offering his resignation, which he hoped, would 
not be accepted." He paid a handsome tribute to a number 
of the old directors, who on several occasions had advanced 
money to pay the teachers' salaries when there was no money 
in the treasury. 

Before adjournment, as predicted by Mr. M'Conomy, came 
a letter of resignation from Dr. John L. Atlee, who had served 
as a director continuously for twenty-nine years. His resig- 
nation having been accepted. Rev. ]\Ir. Rosenmiller offered 
the following resolution which was unanimously adopted : 




FREDERICK S. PYFER. 



COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 259 

" Rcsohcd, That the thanks of this board are hereby ex- 
pressed to John L. Atlee for the efficient and faithful service 
he rendered the cause of education in liis connection with the 
board for so many years." 

It was Doctor Atlee's pleasure to remark at the close of his 
long, active career as a director, that " he had never missed a 
meeting, nor had he ever been absent on roll-call." These 
words, spoken years ago, the minutes have fully confirmed. 
The meaning he meant to convey was that of promptness and 
punctuality in the discharge of every duty, public and private 
— a lesson so few regard as of the utmost importance in their 
daily walks of life. 

To add peculiar effect to the foregoing, a second letter was 
read: 

" To THE President and Directors of the Public Schools 
OF Lancaster: 
" Gentlemen: I am now within a few months of four-score 
years, and have served many years as director. You will 
therefore excuse me for sending this, my resignation. I think 
it a duty I owe myself at this advanced age to have nothing 
on my mind to attend to but my own private affairs, and there- 
fore resign my seat as a member. I will leave it with my best 
wishes for the welfare and prosperity of the public schools, 
with which I have been so long identified. 

" Respectfully Yours, 

" GODFRIED ZaHM." 

In response, Dr. Levcrgood offered the following, wdiich was 
adopted : 

" Resolved, That as this board accepts the resignation of Mr. 
Zahm, the president be authorized to tender him the cordial 
thanks of the board for the prompt, efficient and faithful man- 
ner in which he has ahvays discharged his duties as a member 
thereof." 



260 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

What a striking coincidence ! Atlee, Zahm, M'Conomy — 
each with a record of twenty-nine years ; two of whom were 
to cease from their labors as directors — the third, to follow 
within a few short years. Truly, these are examples of faith- 
ful public service. 

With the August meeting following, came more trouble for 
the boys' and girls' high schools. Mr. Wilson's amendment to 
rule 88, " providing that so much of any rule, resolution or 
order, as provides for giving instruction in Latin and Greek 
in the male high school, as well as French in the female high 
school, should be rescinded or abolished," was taken up as 
unfinished business. 

]\Ir. Cochran proposed to amend the resolution by adding, 
" except the pupils now pursuing these studies." The amend- 
ment was accepted by Mr. Wilson. 

In further explanation of his amendment, Mr. Cochran said 
" he was opposed to excluding the study of those languages 
from our high schools, and offered the amendment in order 
that if Mr. Wilson's amendment was adopted, no interference 
would be made with the scholars who have commenced the 
study of those languages. He acknowledged that but a lim- 
ited knowledge of the Latin, Greek or French languages could 
be obtained in our high schools, but that little was of much 
value." 

Dr. Levergood was opposed to the adoption of Mr. Wilson's 
amendment : " A knowledge of the Latin language is indis- 
pensable to persons about entering any of the professions or 
engaging in the drug business." 

Mr. Wilson followed with reasons which influenced him in 
offering the resolution : " Boys and girls have but four years 
to spend in the high schools ; an important question is how 
that time can be put to the best advantage. It has been ad- 
mitted that pupils obtain but a smattering knowledge of these 
languages. Look at boys and girls who go through our high 



COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 



261 



schools ; some of the, have but a hniited knowledge of ortho<,- 
raphy. After boys have graduated at the high school they are 
nc. prepared to e,ncr the Freshu.an class of Franklin and Mar- 
ia! College. Give them a thorough English education in- 
stead of allowurg then, to f,-itter away their time in trying to 
study the classics. \\'e I,ave no principal in the high sel„;is 
and the present corps of teachers have uo. time enough to 
devote to the .ns.ructiou of Latin, Greek and French ^^less 
he Enghsh be neglected. Pupils should be required to study 
on,ethn,g substant.al. Discussions are now going on betwee," 
learned .,,en as to whether it is an advantage to te^eh the class- 
ics in colleges." 

Mn Rosenn.illcr " looked upon the high school as the poor 
man s acaden.y. Rich n.en can send their sons to collec^e 
Many awyers and preachers are sadly deficient in their 
knowledge of orthography. To discontinue the study of these 
languages would be to retrograde. He had heard good reci- 
tations in French, Latin and Greek in our high schools" 

I\ r Sanderson said " that if the question was a new one he 
would unhesitatingly vote against the study of these languao-es 
;n our schools. He did not think that the Legislature in pa^ss- 
ing the school law contemplated the study of the classics He 
thought, however, that we ought not to take a step backward 
He was in favor of the study of Latin, but could see no use 
m Greek or French. He doubted whether any who studied 
French could hold a five ininute-s conversation in it La his 
judgment girls had better study the art of cooking than the 
Lrench. 

"Dr. Carpenter was in favor of retaining the study of the 
Latin; the Greek may be of some use, but he could see no 
advantage in studying the French, particularly as there were 
few teachers who understood it sufiiciently to impart a thor- 
ough knowledge to pupils." 

With such diversity of opinion, what other result might be 



262 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

expected than an indefinite postponement, which followed. 
No doubt each member taking part in the discussion, on see- 
ing the proceedings reported in the daily papers, stood ready 
to congratulate himself in having relieved his mind on this 
important question. The above views illustrate how subjects 
are oftentimes discussed in the school board, by those without 
any clearly defined opinions as to what should or should not 
constitute the school curriculum. And how many of these 
foresighted, intelligent members of the Lancaster School 
Hoard could then foresee that, forty years later, these same 
questions involving the teaching of the classics would be dis- 
cussed without any satisfactory conclusions resulting there- 
from? Strange as it may seem, our local system of schools 
has managed to jog along year after year down to this year 
1904, though its members have never wearied in threshing out 
questions that should have been settled long since. 

If, as one member said, the " dead languages " were still 
very much alk'C in the high schools, the teaching of the Ger- 
man language, as a separate branch, was now to occupy the 
attention of the board in even a more marked degree. For, 
at the September meeting following, Mr. Simon P. Eby, chair- 
man of the committee appointed to inquire into the c[uestion 
of introducing the study of the German into the schools of this 
city, reported as follows : 

" The committee appointed to inquire into the question of 
reading and writing in the German language in two of our 
primary and secondary schools, and if in their opinion expedi- 
ent to procure a plan, respectfully report that they have had 
the subject under advisement, and come to the following con- 
clusion, which they beg leave to submit. They think it proper 
that an opportunity should be given in the public schools of 
the city where reading and writing in the German language 
could be learned. 

" But after considering all the plans, they can see one way 



COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 263 

only that would be practicable, and which will accomplish the 
object proposed, namely, the establishment of two separate 
schools, one in the eastern and the other in the western part 
of the city, in which the German language would be taught 
exclusively, by thorough German teachers. This, in their 
opinion, requires legislation, and will necessarily postpone put- 
ting the proposed plan into operation until another year." 
" Respectfully submitted, 

" Simon P. Eby, 
" Robert A. Evans, 
" William R. Wilson, 
" Emanuel Shober." 

Thus were the opponents of the German language relieved 
from further anxiety until summoned to the council chamber 
at a later day. Mr. Hoppe, appointed to serve out Dr. Atlee's 
unexpired term, took occasion to say, " that when first notified 
of his contemplated election as a member of the board, he was 
prompted to decline the office ; but thinking that his services 
might be of some advantage in making arrangements for the 
German language in the public schools of the city, he concluded 
to accept. Now, however, that this question has been put off, 
he would tender his resignation as a member of this board." 
The question of the acceptance of Rev. Hoppe's resignation 
was postponed. 

At the October meeting of 1867, the following preamble and 
resolution were offered by D. G. Swartz : 

" Whereas, The greatest part of the school tax is paid 
before the end of August, in each year, yielding a large sum 
of money lying idle in the treasury, until it is gradually reduced 
during the year, by monthly payments to teachers and other 
expenses ; 

" And Whereas, As if to increase the amount of idle 
money on hand, a discount is allowed for the prompt payment 
of the tax; therefore, 



264 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" Resolved, That the Finance Committee be instructed to 
ascertain with what bank or bankers the money in the treasury, 
from time to time, could be safely deposited, and what rate 
of interest could be obtained for it: subject to be drawn at 
sight, from time to time, as fast as the expenditures of this 
board might require, and to report at the next meeting of the 
board." 

The offering of this resolution provoked a spirited discus- 
sion. Mr. M'Conomy, Treasurer, stated in explanation, that, 
" under a rule of the board, the money paid to the Treasurer 
is deposited under the direction of the Finance Committee, and 
that he never received a dollar of interest. The school money 
is now deposited in two banking institutions ; and that it was 
due to those who received these deposits to say, that the school 
account is frequently overdrawn — sometimes to the amount 
of several thousand dollars." 

On motion the whole subject was indefinitely postponed and 
the board adjourned, relieved from another annoying problem. 

At the meeting of March 5, 1868, the last to convene under 
the act of 1850, the following amendments to the rules of the 
board, offered by Mr. Wilson at the last meeting, were read : 

" 140. No teacher while in the employ of this board shall 
receive any gift or present from any pupil or pupils of the pub- 
lic schools of this city; 

" 141. No collection or contribution of any kind for any 
purpose whatever shall be allowed in any of the schools of the 
city." 

The resolution now being before the board, Mr. M'Comsey 
said : " There was no more impropriety in children making 
presents to their teachers than for any other persons to make 
presents to each other. If the pupils of a school chose to 
manifest their aft'ection for or appreciation of a teacher who 
has faithfully performed her duties in the school room, by the 
presentation to her of some testimonial, they should not be 
prevented from doing so." 



COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 265 

Mr. Wilson, in advocating the adoption of the amendment, 
said : " Unpleasant consequences frequently result from the 
custom of scholars making presents to their teachers. Where 
presents are given, favors will be granted. It is natural that 
children who contribute most liberally will be the favorites in 
the school. As chairman of the Superintending Committee, 
a case in which money was contributed to purchase a present 
for one of the teachers had come to his notice ; the result being 
dissatisfaction among the other teachers of the school." After 
some further discussion, rules 140 and 141 were amended. To 
what extent they have been obeyed is difficult to say. Like a 
good many others before and since, they remain on the min- 
utes, more ornamental than useful, recalling the old Biblical 
quotation, " that it is more blessed to give than to receive." 

On the evening of April 2, 1868, the new board of directors 
met for organization under the new charter, signed by the 
Governor ou the sixteenth of March previous. The following 
is a list of the directors elected: for three years. Christian 
Zecher, John Levergood, William M'Comsey, Henry W. Har- 
berger, Simon P. Eby, George Nauman, Peter M'Conomy, 
Thomas H. Burrowes, John W. Jackson, Anthony E. Roberts, 
George F. Breneman, David Hartman. For two years, Wil- 
liam Hoppe, William A. Morton, Henry E. Slaymaker, Fred. 
S. Pyfer, John A. Sheafif, Henry Carpenter, D. M'Cormick, 
Robert A. Evans, William B. Wiley, George Brubaker, H. S. 
Gara, H. A. Rockafield. For one year, J. J. Sprenger, Charles 
G. Beale, William P. Brinton. William R. Wilson, Alexander 
Harris, Michael M'Cullon, Henry Franke, John J. Cochran. 
Luther Richards, Daniel G. Baker, John R. Russel, William 
L. Bear. 

There being no opposition, William P. Brinton was reelected 
President, Fred. S. Pyfer Secretary, Peter M'Conomy Treas- 
urer, and Mathias Zahni Messenger. 

To aid the reader in more fully understanding how this 



266 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

non-partisan or bi-partisan school board was composed of 
twenty-one Democrats to fifteen Republicans, as appears above, 
a few extracts from the late J. M. Johnston's sketches hereto- 
fore referred to, may relieve the author from any suspicion of 
giving a partisan coloring to events as they transpired during 
these exciting times. 

" It was on the sixteenth day of March, 1868, that the Gov- 
ernor signed a law providing for an election of thirty-six 
directors to be voted for on the fourth of March following, 
twelve of whom were to serve for one year, twelve for two, 
and twelve for three years; all of whom were to take their 
seats on the first Tuesday of April of this year, 1868. It was 
further provided that each elector was to vote for only eighteen 
candidates, and that the thirty-six having the highest number 
of votes should be elected ; and that there should be no cx-oMcio 
members. Thus was the old Democratic board completely 
wiped out and their majority gone. 

" The Democrats," continues Mr. Johnston's sketch, " had 
no doubt that the purpose of the law was to give the Republi- 
cans control of the board, and they set their wits to work to 
prevent it. A plan was soon devised. It was decided to quietly 
put in nomination twenty-one Democrats and to have the tickets 
so printed that only eighteen of these names should appear 
on any one of the tickets. Messengers were sent out to sum- 
mon the voters to the polls, and they came in unusual num- 
bers. By careful manipulation of the tickets the aggregate 
vote of each of the twenty-one Democrats was kept about the 
same figures. The Republican leaders did not discover the 
trick until too late in the afternoon to defeat it, and when the 
votes were counted it was seen that the Democrats had elected 
twenty-one and the Republicans fifteen only. To prevent a 
recurrence of such a disaster, the Republicans had the Legis- 
lature pass the supplement to the city charter, ]\Iarch 20, 1869, 
repealing that section of the law of March 16, 1868, which 



COMBINED GERATAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 267 

provided for the election of school directors on the fourth 
Friday in ]\Iarch, and enacting' instead, that they should be 
elected at the general election on the second Tuesday of 
October, and organize on the first Thursday in November. 
The law remained in force until 1874, when the new consti- 
tution went into effect, providing that all municipal and school 
elections should be held on the third Tuesday in February." 

The author has introduced these facts here to show more 
particularly why directors who are elected in February do not 
take their seats until the following November. The time of 
the election was changed by the constitution, but the time of 
the organization of the school board was not. It may be said 
in this connection, that a few years later, the Republicans, 
having learned a lesson in political economy from their Demo- 
cratic friends resorted to a similar device, electing a majority 
of their own number, thus giving them control of the ofificers 
of the board. 

For a period of twenty years, as the reader shall in due time 
learn, the battle for political supremacy, in the Lancaster School 
Board, continued with unabated interest, with the balance of 
power at times with the Democrats, at others with the Repub- 
licans. It is a striking commentary upon the school system of 
Pennsylvania, that, for nearly two decades, the cause of edu- 
cation in this city was subjected to the whims and caprices of 
political expediency. It is not the purpose of the author to 
discuss at length the merits or demerits of the " non-partisan " 
act, under wdiich, for more than thirty years the Lancaster 
School Board has been operating. On the cjuestion of divided 
responsibility, opinion has differed, as it might possibly have 
differed under any act the Legislature could have enacted dur- 
ing those exciting war times. With twenty years of recordings 
yet to follow, we question whether any director or ex-director, 
along in the later eighties, could say, with a conscientious re- 
gard for the cause of education, that our non-partisan system 



268 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

had been anything approaching a success. Of course, much 
depends upon the view-point : those who believe that a system 
of education cannot be successfully conducted except on party 
lines, will hardly fall in with the author's line of reasoning: 
others, who conscientiously believe that the entire public school 
system of the commonwealth should be divorced from politics, 
will reach a different conclusion. 

Before adjournment the following letter from Miss Musser, 
teacher in the girls' high school, was read : 

"Lancaster, Alarch 21, 1868. 
" To THE School Board of Lancaster City : 

" Gentlemen — I hereby tender to you my resignation of the 
situation of teacher in the female high school of this city, to 
take effect one month from this date. In thus separating the 
connection which has so long existed between the school board, 
its public schools and myself, I may be excused for expressing 
the deep feelings which oppress me. 

" Domestic considerations, at this time, induce me to with- 
draw from a position which has been so pleasant and, which is 
fraught with so many tender reminiscences. I have been in 
the employ of the board since its earliest organization under 
our present common school system. 

" I have ever watched with interest the various efforts made 
from time to time by the board to improve our schools, and I 
assure you it has always afforded me pleasure to cooperate 
with the board, and to^ carry out fully its views and wishes. 

" In now retiring from the service of the board — bearing 
with me a deep sense of its many acts of courtesy and kindness 
manifested toward me — permit me to assure you, that the best 
welfare of the public schools of Lancaster city, shall ever be 
a subject very near and dear to me. 

" I am very respectfully yours, 

" C. Musser." 




MISS CHRISTIE MUSSER. 



COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 269 

Mr. Wilson said " that as Miss Musser had served the board 
so long and satisfactorily, he would move that a vote of thanks 
be tendered her for the faithful manner in which she had per- 
formed her duties while in the employ of the board." The 
motion was unanimously adopted. Thus passed from the 
sphere of her usefidness an old respected teacher, remembered 
to this day by hundreds who sat as girls, under her broad, 
womanly nature. 

At the meeting of July second Dr. Carpenter, chairman of the 
third committee, appointed to consider the subject of establish- 
ing a German-English school reported as follows : 

"Gentlemen: Your committee would respectfully report, 
that there is a large proportion of the children of the taxpayers 
of this district whose parents desire them to be instructed, at 
least to some degree, in the German language. We were not 
able from any data within our reach to estimate their number 
accurately ; but some idea may be obtained from the statistics 
of one school in operation in the district. We allude to the 
Parish Congregational School of the German Lutheran church 
on East Vine street. This school contains one hundred and 
eighty pupils, which number constitute about one third of the 
children of the congregation. The parents of these children 
(who pay school tax in common with other citizens) also pay 
an amount per capita for the purpose of maintaining this 
school considerably exceeding the amount of their school-tax. 
This is an injustice or inequality which strongly entitles the 
subject submitted to us to favorable consideration ; for the law 
(which we will quote) expressly says that the wishes of the 
parents shall be gratified in this particular. Acting on the 
decision of the Superintendent of Common Schools, upon the 
general school law and its various supplements, it is ruled as 
follows (Wharton's Digest, 'School Laws,' pages 140-141) : 



270 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

' School directors may establish German schools under the 
Common School Law, or cause German or English to be taught 
in the same school, but the board of directors cannot be re- 
quired to cause German to be taught. They should consult 
the wishes of the people of their district in this regard and 
if any considerable number of Germans desire to have their 
children taught in their own language, their wishes should be 
gratified. Section 41. The directors have exclusive jurisdic- 
tion over this subject, and from their decision upon it there is 
no appeal. The superintendent has power only to advise. If 
the wishes of the people are not respected, the only remedy is 
to elect persons who will respect them.' 

" It being therefore apparent that any considerable number 
of citizens have clearly the right tO' desire the instruction of 
their children in the German language ; and as that demand 
has been frccjucntly made, we would respectfully recommend 
that their wishes be gratified, as we conceive it can be done 
without great trouble or increased expense. 

" We would suggest that a combined primary school be 
organized, with two teachers, one to teach the German, the 
other the English — one half of each day to be devoted to one 
language, the other half to the other. 

" Schools upon this p^an have been in operation in Harris- 
burg, Reading and other places for years and arc working well, 
and are giving general satisfaction. Another advantage which 
this arrangement might be made to afiford, would be the in- 
struction of the pupils in the high schools in German, by the 
professor or teacher of that language in the primary school, 
giving instruction such a number of half days in the week as 
may be deemed desirable ; in which case, a second assistant 
may be employed in the primary school. The committee would 
submit the following resolution : 



COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 271 

" Resolved, That the Siipcrintendmg' Committee be in- 
structed to organize a combined primary school, upon the basis 
or plan suggested. 

" Respectfully submitted by the committee, 

" Henry Carpenter, 
" George Nauman, 
" George Brubaker, 
" William Hoppe, 
" J. J. Springer." 

After a prolonged discussion, in which the majority of mem- 
bers participated, all more or less swayed by the expediency of 
the occasion, or as a bid for the German vote, the report was 
adopted. Shortly thereafter, the German-English school went 
into operation, not as a primary but as an ungraded school 
with Charles L. Steinmiller, formerly principal of the German 
Lutheran school as principal. Aliss Annie C. Springer was 
elected first, and ]\Iiss Hattie Dunlap, second assistant. 

This may seem like " ancient history " to the average reader 
who is in no way familiar with the evolution through which 
our local system of schools has passed. It will be necessary to 
observe, however, how the minds of directors diiTered wdth 
reference to wdiat should constitute the common school curric- 
ulum. Many wdio opposed the teaching of the Latin, Greek 
and French, advocated the teaching of the German, and vice 
versa. The minutes have shown and will continue to show 
strange contradictions cropping out in the school board's de- 
liberations. Happily for the great majority of school districts, 
the common school laws are both contractive and expansive, 
affording as many constructions of the various enactments as 
there are questions involved. The German-English schools 
having been in operation in this city for more than thirty years, 
they have no doubt fulfilled in a large measure the purpose for 
which they were established. 

On the twelfth of October, 1868, the board convened in 



272 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

special session to pay tribute to the memory of another of its 
valued members, who passed to his final rest in the fulness of 
his years. After a few appropriate remarks by the chairman 
and others, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : 

" Resolved, That we regret to hear of the death of our late 
fellow citizen and member of this board, Dr. D. M'Cormick, 
and as a mark of respect this board will attend his funeral in 
a body." 

Dr. M'Cormick, as many of our older citizens will recall, 
was the father of Dr. D. H. M'Cormick, at present member of 
the Lancaster School Board. 

The first move for the erection of what is hereafter to be 
known as the " Rockland Street " school house, came at the 
February meeting of 1869, as a motion from Robert A. Evans, 
requesting the Superintending Committee " to inquire into the 
matter of more convenient school accommodations for the 
children who reside on the ' Old Factory Road ' and its vicinity 
and make report to the board when convenient." The erection 
of this building marks the beginning of the second era of 
school-house building, extending down to the present. Mar- 
velous, indeed, must it seem to the very few living who were 
members of the board a generation ago, when they realize the 
stupendous strides that have since been made in the erection 
of new school houses ! A glance at the profile of the five low- 
down one story buildings which stood at the corner of Duke 
and German, then at the photographic protraiture of the one 
erected later, and we have the story of progress in language 
more forcible than words convey. 

At an adjourned meeting held March 18, of the closing year 
1869, it was finally determined to remove the boys' high school 
from the Lancasterian building to Mulberry street, where it 
remained until the year 1876, when the doors of the new boys' 
and girls' high school on West Orange street were thrown open 
for the accommodation of both sexes. 



COMBINED GERMAN-ENGLISH SCHOOLS. 273 

Passing- from the sixties into the seventies, we reach what 
might properly speaking be designated the dividing Hne be- 
tween the Old and the New — the half-way milestone, so to 
speak. Thirty-two years had come and gone since the first 
meeting of the Lancaster City School Board in the conrt house 
in Centre Square to organize a new system of schools under the 
acts of 1834 and 1836: an equal number of years are yet to 
be traveled until we shall have reached the end of our educa- 
tional pilgrimage. 

At the close of this important epoch, embraced within the 
sixties and seventies, let us rest for a moment, as we bid a 
regretful farewell to another of the old minute books, to enter 
upon a time laden with its harvest of rich possibilities for the 
young reapers — our boys who are to be entrusted with the 
school interests of our city in the years to come. The con- 
clusion to be drawn is. that upon the shoulders of this direct 
product of the common school system must rest the respon- 
sibility, for such good, bad. or indifferent legislation as the 
various secretaries may have to record. Of the long list of 
those who entered the board under the new charter of 1868, not 
a single one will answer the roll-call at the close of the year 
1904. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

A GLANCE AT RURAL DISTRICTS. 

Finance Committee's Report for i860 — A Glance at the Rural Dis- 
tricts of the Coimty — A Code of Morals of a Higher Order Necessary 
to the Making of Good Citizenship — Memorial Tribute to the Memory 
of H. A. Rockafield — Death of Thomas H. Burrowes — Request of Trus- 
tees of Franklin and Marshall College from the Lancaster School 
Board to Raise $6,000 toward a Fund of $15,000, to Enable the College 
to throw open its Doors for the Education of the Youth of the City — 
Mrs. S. M. Kraniph petitions the Board for a Teacher for the Chil- 
dren's Home. 

At the beginning of i860, as has already been noted, the 
approximate population of Lancaster city was something over 
17,000; in this year 1870 it had reached 21,000 or over. The 
sHghtness of the increase may be attributed to the war rather 
than to a lack of thrift and enterprise, which, however, were 
only slightly in evidence, the tendency of our citizens being 
still in the direction of conservatism. How many golden op- 
portunities for the extension of Lancaster's industrial and com- 
mercial life were allowed to pass, never more to return, are 
still to be recalled by many of our older citizens. From now 
on, we propose to show how the old town is to awaken from 
its Rip Van Winkle sleep, and catching the spirit of the times, 
move rapidly forward until it shall have fulfilled its destiny, 
becoming eventually a " Greater Lancaster." 

It was at the stated meeting of May, 1870, that the follow- 
ing report of the Finance Committee was presented by Chair- 
man Evans, showing the depressed condition of the finances 
of the city. If the records of councils were available, they 
would likely show a similar condition of depression, in which 
all municipal improvements were at a stand-still. Sufficient 
evidence is, however, at the author's command to show that 
only enough money was appropriated by our " City Fathers " 

274 



A GLANCE AT RURAL DISTRICTS. 275 

to keep the wheels of our local government moving. The re- 
port of the Finance Committee of the School Board reads as 

follows : 

" GeiiflciiH'u: Your Finance Committee, required by rule 28, 
respectfully present the annual statement of the probable re- 
ceipts and expenditures for the coming year with the tax-rate 
remaining at seventy cents on the hundred-dollar valuation : 

$4,200,000 valuation at 70 $29,400 

State appropriation 2,500 

Rent of house 100 

Fines 100 

Balance in treasury, April i, 1870 74i 91 $32,841 91 

Estimated Expenses. 

Tuition, day and nigiit schools $19,450 00 

Interest on loans i,ioo 00 

Coal and kindling 1,200 00 

Gas bills 65 00 

Janitors 650 00 

Salaries 300 00 

Cleaning schools 200 00 

Books and stationery 450 00 

Repairs and stoves 2,000 00 

Abatement, 5 per cent 1,000 00 

Errors and exonerations 3,ooo 00 

Commissions for collections 700 00 

Contingencies 2,726 91 $32,841 91." 

By reference to the Finance Committee's report for 1850, it 
will be noted that the assessed valuation for school purposes 
was $3,052,000; in i860, it had reached only $3,414,000, and 
in 1870, $4,200,000 — an actual average yearly increase during 
the previous score of years of but $74,000. According to this 
showing of comparisons, it is not to be wondered that at the 
beginning of 1870 the tax-rate should be continued at seven 
mills on the dollar. The State appropriation likewise had 
shown but slight increase over that of the decade previous — a 
gain of but $700, in this item alone. 
24 



276 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

This third-rate valuation, however, was not forever to con- 
tinue. The time was to come when pubHc opinion was to de- 
mand a readjustment; but unfortunately as will be shown, as 
the real-estate valuation increased, ultimately reaching the 
$18,000,000 mark, the tax-rate is to show but slight dimunition, 
notwithstanding the fact that the State's bounty is to increase 
from $2,500 in 1870 to nearly $30,000 in 1904. To go a step 
further. According to the statement of the Finance Commit- 
tee in 1840, the income from all sources for carrying on the 
schools was something less than $6,000 ; thirty years later, as 
per report for this year 1870, it was $32,841. What the rev- 
enue and expenditures for school purposes is to be thirty years 
later, the reader will learn in due time. 

While at no time during the previous decade of years were 
there more than thirty-nine members on the board at once, the 
list set forth elsewhere discloses the astonishing fact that from 
the beginning of i860 to the close of 1869, nearly one hundred 
of our leading citizens served in its councils, some for a single 
term of three years, others for a much longer period. Of 
this number, strange as it may seem, but five are among the 
living, namely, Amos Slaymaker, who entered the board in 
1852; Simon P. Eby, J. W. Johnson, Henry E. Slaymaker. and 
John B. Warfel. 

Entering the school board at the November meeting, 1869, 
Mr. Warfel is still a member, with a record of thirty-five years. 
It was in the early fall of i860, if the author may be allowed 
to indulge himself in a reminiscence, that he found the writer 
in that stone school house among the chestnuts of romantic 
old Paradise. It was " Cedar Hill," every foot of whose 
mountain soil is still as dear to the heart of the author as were 
the rippling streams and the sturdy miners who dwelt here and 
there in their unpretentious homes. What a volume might be 
written of " Cedar Hill," of the boys and girls who, forty-five 
years ago, gathered within its walls, all with the determination 



A GLANCE AT RURAL DLSTRICTS. 277 

to profit by such advantages as the rural schools of that day 
afforded. 

It may be well to divert the reader's attention for a moment 
from his own surroundings, otherwise he may be led to im- 
agine that the district school of that time was altogether de- 
void of such advantages as the city schools possessed. There 
were, at the time of which we write, two adjoining districts, 
Strasburg and Paradise, conspicuous for their high grade of 
schools. At this time Mr. Warfel served as " District Super- 
intendent " of the Paradise township schools in addition to 
his duties as secretary of the board. 

One additional reflection may here be noted — that for length 
of school term and salaries paid teachers not a few of the 
rural districts were much behind what they are to-day ; an 
eight-month term, with a maximum forty-per-month salary, 
was by no means an exception. With a no greater tax-rate 
than that levied at the present day, and the State af)propria- 
tion, scarcely one-fifth of what it is at the present time, the 
rural districts managed to provide an education for their chil- 
dren, at no time surpassed during later years. Since then, 
however, additional expenditures have been required, the num- 
ber of school houses in Paradise township having nearly 
doubled. But whether the children of to-day are receiving 
better educational training than those of forty-five years ago, 
in these same districts, is a question upon which opinion may 
differ. The fact remains, notwithstanding, that teachers, in 
these respective districts, received approximately the same com- 
pensation then as forty years later. 

For long-continued service the directors throughout the 
county are not by any means behind those of the city. Since 
1844, three members of one family have successively held the 
office of school director in Paradise township. In the above- 
named year, ]\Ir. John Ranck entered the board, serving luitil 
old age compelled him to rest from his labors, when his son 



278 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Jacob was elected his successor, remaining at his post of duty 
until his death, when his son John K. was elected. As he is 
still a member, with several buxom lads following in their 
teens, the chances are the Ranck family may round up a full 
century of directorship during the years to come. 

What an array of names looms up before the mind's eye of 
the compiler as memory carries him back to the time when to 
stand up in defense of increased salaries, a longer school term, 
with better school accommodations was to run counter to pub- 
lic opinion. Directors by the scores might be mentioned, who, 
in their day, were the pioneers in the cause of education. From 
the Donegals eastward to the Chester county line, and from 
the Lebanon hills to Maryland, have lived and died men and 
women equally deserving of mention with their co-workers in 
the city of Lancaster. The field, however, is too broad and 
extended to be covered in a single volume. This much, in 
addition may be said that, in no other county in the common- 
wealth has the tenure of office of both teacher and director 
exceeded that of Lancaster county. It may be likewise said 
that, within the past half century, the office of County Super- 
intendent of schools has fallen to but five of its citizens, namely, 
Wickersham, Crumbach, Evans, Shaub, and the present in- 
cumbent. Professor Brecht, who for nearly a quarter of a cen- 
tury has devoted his best energies to the advancement of the 
schools of the county. 

Since the writer has unconsciously drifted somewhat from 
the Lancaster School Board's records, another episode entirely 
personal may be mentioned, with the lingering thought that 
others may have passed through a similar experience. As the 
author's name appears as one of the board of this city, elected 
in 1870, it may not be amiss to state how he was so suddenly 
transformed from a teacher of two years before into a direc- 
tor of schools. Elected to the position of principal of the 
South Duke Street Secondary School in the summer of 1865, 



A GLANCE AT RURAL DLSTRICTS. 279 

without regard to his political proclivities, the time came three 
years later, when he concluded that taking a hand in play- 
ing politics was in no way inconsistent with his duties as 
teacher. To his astonishment, however, the newly-elected 
board with its Democratic majority, viewed the question from 
an entirely different standpoint ; with the result that he awoke 
the morning after the election of teachers to find his name 
had been dropped from the pay roll. It was a lesson in 
" school economy," however, coming early in life that had its 
advantages ; it taught the young teacher that great activity 
in political aft'airs is incompatible with the duties of instructor. 
Two years later, under the " non-partisan " regime of the 
new act the writer's name managed to find a place on the bi- 
partisan ticket, and went through according to pre-arrange- 
ment with the other eleven school officials. To be thus sud- 
denly transferred from the school room of two years before 
into the councils of the Lancaster School Board, among those 
who controlled the destinies of its school population, was 
looked forward to, not without considerable anxiety. The 
school board as constituted along in the early seventies, when 
the struggle for supremacy was a first consideration to public 
favor, was composed mostly of men of middle age, many of 
whom had earned their seats through faithful service in their 
respective political organizations. Between these veteran di- 
rectors, whether Republicans or Democrats, and a common 
school teacher there seemed to be an almost insurmountable 
barrier, which became only too apparent when he found him- 
self without a place on any of the more important committees. 
Like a good many others before and since his day, however, 
he assisted in making a quorum, in voting with his party on 
all important questions, especially when the election of officers 
required each member to stand up manfully in the interest of 
his own party's candidate. (Occasionally, a sly remark was 
dropped that beginners should abide their time, and only at 



280 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the beginning of their second or third term could they hope 
to have their ambition gratified in the appointment to the 
chairmanship of any of the more important committees. Un- 
der more favorable auspices, ten years' experience as a school 
teacher might have resulted in some good to the schools of 
Lancaster. But alas ! the newly-elected director's suggestions 
were like seed sown upon stony ground. Indeed there is noth- 
ing to show that his short career of three years was in any 
sense a particularly brilliant one. The result was his first term 
of three years' school board " activity " was an ample suffi- 
ciency. We are pained to add that on retiring from the 
strenuous duties of the office no resolution of regret was passed 
by his remaining colleagues. If haply there were, the secre- 
tary failed lamentably in recording the same. 

And yet, apart from these early experiences, the friendships 
formed with many of these same directors, then and during 
later years, were as enduring as they were pleasant. As time 
ran on, those who had been his political enemies, turned out 
to be his lifelong friends. And here, it occurs to the writer, 
that it is well, after all, that young men should be thrown into 
the busy, active world with men older than themselves, rather 
than to grow into adult life with only the boon companions of 
their boyhood days. The school room, at best, is but the first 
step leading to the highway of a broader life ; and in pursuing 
its rugged pathway, it is better to lean for support against an 
aged oak than against a slender sapling ready to bend with his 
own weight. Let the young man, then, occasionally take 
counsel from those older in years and experience. Indeed, it 
might be well if a little more of the school-room teaching were 
of the " old schoolmaster " kind, in which, in days gone by, 
boys were compelled to bump up against the " old man's " 
sharp corners. To be daily and yearly nourished like a hot- 
house plant, to be fed on a concoction of systematic hygiene 
and other moral precepts, oftentimes leaves the youth with 
strange notions of the outer world and its doings. 



A GLANCE AT RURAL DISTRICTS. 281 

Let the thoughts herein meant to be conve3-ed not be mis- 
understood. We do not mean to decry the teaching of whole- 
some precepts : what we do affirm is, that the hue of demar- 
cation between the school and that broader life, which all must 
sooner or later enter, is too pronounced. It is, of course, of 
prime importance that the snares and pitfalls should be pointed 
out. But no effort should be made on the part of teacher to 
imbue a boy with the notion that his associates should comprise 
only those of the select few of his early boon companions. 
Better far that the average boy should be taught to face the 
world, and to profit from his observations and experiences, 
than to be unconsciously entrapped into evil-doing in the inno- 
cence of his maturity. Is it true or is it not, that teachers them- 
selves as a rule, are too narrow and contracted in their views 
of the world and its doings, habitually teaching boys to avoid 
the very evils in our municipal life which they should be taught 
to meet and eliminate with all the force of their moral natures. 
Has not the time arrived when through the schools and the 
home must come a code of morals of a higher order of citizen- 
ship? In the public schools of to-day, in this city and else- 
where, are the boys who, a few years hence, are to develop 
into the men upon whom are to rest the fruits of good munici- 
pal government. In every school in the commonwealth socie- 
ties should be formed, and a solemn vow taken by every mem- 
ber that, in casting his first vote, the welfare of society only 
should then and thereafter, be his one over-shadowing purpose. 
What this and every other city most needs, are young men of 
force and fibre, with a resolute purpose, that in whatever posi- 
tion they may be placed, only the highest motives of good 
citizenship shall control their actions in defending what their 
better judgment teaches them to be right, just and for the 
best interests of good municipal government. But this old 
town of Lancaster is, after all, a pretty good place for any 
young man to risk his future ! Let him then, if he must, lean 



282 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

upon the old oaks, and he will find himself growing with their 
growth and strengthening with their strength. 

Turning from these few common-place deductions, we find 
that on the twenty-second of November, 1870, the board is 
again called into extra session to mourn the departure of 
another of its most esteemed members. After a few remarks 
by the president and others eulogistic of the deceased, the fol- 
lowing resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, The members of this board have learned with 
profound regret of the demise of their late colleague, H. A. 
Rockafield, therefore be it 

"Resolved: First, That in the death of our lamented friend 
this board has lost one of its useful and intelligent members, 
an ornament in the various relations of life, a faithful friend, 
and a Christian and beloved gentleman. 

" Seeond, That in this seemingly untimely death, not only 
this board but the public schools of which he was an ardent 
and devoted friend, have met with an irreparable loss. In his 
bearing toward his colleagues, always dignified and courteous, 
he discharged his duties as a member of the board, as well as 
those of a reportorial character, with eminent integrity and 
ability. 

" Third, That as a mark of respect to the deceased, this 
board will attend his funeral in a body, and the teachers in 
their employ, as well as the pupils of both high schools are 
invited to join them. 

" Fourth, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to his 
parents, with whom we deeply sympathize in their bereave- 
ment ; and that a report of our proceedings be handed to the 
city papers for publication. 

And who was Henry A. Rockafield? may be asked by those 
who knew him not. He was one of God's noblemen bearing 
upon his broad, open countenance an expression of deep tender 



A GLANCE AT RURAL DISTRICTS. 283 

s\mpatliy for his fcllownian. He was not only a devoted 
friend of every director, of every teacher, Ijut of every boy and 
g"irl with whom he daily came in contact in his rounds as a 
director. Tall, with a slightly-bending- forward figure, he was 
ever recognized for his fairness as a reporter of the Evening 
Express. Taken in the very flower of his young manhood, 
there were few who failed to drop a tear over the tomb of 
this fair-minded, big-hearted school director. 

On page 128 of minute book number four, are recorded the 
following resolutions, offered by Mr. Samuel H. Reynolds, at 
the meeting of Alarch 2, 1871 : 

" Whereas, It has pleased God to remove by death our late 
friend and fellow citizen, the Hon. Thomas H. Burrowes, 
LL.D., who for many years was a distinguished and most 
useful member of the school board, therefore, 

" Resolved, That while we acknowledge with humble sub- 
mission the wishes of an inscrutable Providence in His exer- 
cise of Divine Will, we feel that in his death as an individual 
we have lost a friend who by his many virtues and unquestioned 
integrity has endeared himself to us all ; that as a co-worker 
in the cause of education, we have lost a devoted and earnest 
leader, an unerring councilor — that while he leaves to the state 
his interest in the present common school system — the result 
of his indefatigable labor and energy — a priceless legacy — she 
in common with us in his death has sustained an irreparable 
loss. 

'' Resolved, That we oft'er our sympathy to the family of 
the deceased, and beg that they be condoled by the reflection, 
that ' though he died ' he still lives in the memory of all who 
appreciate private worth and public integrity. 

"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented 
to the family of the deceased, and that they be published in the 
Lancaster and Clinton county papers." 



284 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

To the above no comment need be added. It shows that 
while at times directors may become involved in acrimonious 
discussion, there are alsO' times when with them too " one 
touch of nature makes the whole world kin." 

At the following regular meeting, a committee, consisting 
of Judge Livingston, Dr. John L. Atlee, Hon. Thomas E. 
Franklin, J. C. Hager and E. J. Zahm, appeared before the 
board, to revive the old question of college education which 
had been so persistently advocated during the early fifties. 

By permission of the board. Judge Livingston, chairman of 
the committee, stated, " that in pursuance of a resolution 
adopted at a late meeting of the Trustees of Franklin and 
Marshall College, the committee had this evening called upon 
the board of school directors to request them to appropriate 
the sum of $6,000 toward making up the $15,000 necessary to 
enable the college to throw open its doors for the education 
of the youth of the city, free of charge for all time to come." 

Doctor Atlee " urged upon the board the propriety of making 
the appropriation of $6,000, explaining that all the trustees 
asked w^as that the sum named be set apart in some way that 
the interest thereof may be used for the benefit of the college." 
In the absence of the presiding officer, the resolution was de- 
ferred until the following meeting. On motion, William 
Jeffres, a former graduate of the boys' high school, was elected 
a free pupil at Franklin and Marshall College, under the Act 
of Assembly of 1850. 

At the next meeting of the school board Judge Livingston, 
chairman of the board of trustees, stated in a communication, 
" that he had been instructed to withdraw the proposition, 
making Franklin and Marshall College free to all the young 
men of the city of Lancaster." 

The withdrawal of the proposition ended for a time, at least, 
all efforts to effect a union between the school board of Lan- 
caster and the college, apart from the act, under which a large 



A GLANCE AT RURAL DISTRICTS. 285 

number of graduates of the boys' high school had previously 
secured a free college education. The proposition to make 
Franklin and IMarshall College free ' to all the young men of 
Lancaster ' in view of an appropriation of $6,000, the interest 
of which, at six per cent., was but $360 per annum, would 
seem to have been a most liberal one. In all probability the 
same reasons actuated the members of the school board as 
when, a few years earlier, the Superintending Committee, of 
which Doctor Atlee was chairman, reported against appro- 
priating money toward the support of a teacher in the Lutheran 
school. It was argued, no doubt, that if one was a direct 
violation of the school law, why not the other? 

It will be recalled that, along in the year 1868, a petition 
was presented to the board signed by the high school and 
secondary teachers, praying that the subject of vocal music 
might receive their favorable consideration. Later, at the meet- 
ing of March, 1872, the chairman of the Superintending Com- 
mittee stated, " that in pursuance of the resolution adopted at 
the last meeting, the committee have engaged Professor Wil- 
liam B. Hall, as teacher of the science of music in the two high 
and four secondary schools, at a salary of $75 per month. 
With this beginning, in the year 1872, vocal music has since 
been introduced into all the schools of the city, not so much 
as a science, possibly, for it has not as yet been demonstrated 
that the results warrant the statement, that such systematic 
course of instruction has been given, except in the high schools, 
where vocal and instrumental music have been taught under 
a special instructor. And even in these schools, those who 
have availed themselves of the knowledge of the science of 
music are comparatively few. 

It may seem not unlike a coincidence that, at the same 
meeting the resolution was received from the trustees of 
Franklin and Marshall College, a communication was received 
from the managers of the Children's Home the purport of 



286 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

which, while differing somewhat from that of the college, was 
yet in many respects of a similar nature, namely : 

" To Mr. Brinton : President of the Board of school directors : 
"Dear Sir: In behalf of the Board of Managers of the 
Home for Friendless Children, I address you, asking that a 
teacher be supplied at the expense of the city, to our home, for 
the coming school year. We have two teachers regularly em- 
ployed and need a third, wdiich addition we feel scarcely able 
to supply. We feel sure you will consider our application 
favorably, and grant it if there be no law to forbid. We would 
be entitled, I understand, to send all our friendless children to 
the public schools if we so desired. Now in relation to our 
application, I will present the matter thus : We have, say, forty 
or fifty children that we wish the city to educate. Instead of 
our sending them tO' fill up one of your schools, cannot you 
take charge of them, under one of your teachers, in one of our 
pleasant rooms in the Home building ? We respectfully submit 
the matter to your consideration. 

" Yours truly, 

" Mrs. S. M. Kramph, 
" President, Board of Managers." 

It may be said that at a later meeting the request was com- 
plied with and Aliss Kate Summy elected teacher. 

Possibly no more deserving tribute was ever paid to a more 
deserving woman, considered either in her individual capacity 
or as the chairman of the Board of Managers of the Childrens' 
Home. Having devoted her life to the cause of the orphan 
children of our city and county on the death of her husband, 
who had served for many years as a member of the school 
board, she continued the good work from the early sixties until 
the year 1903, when, at the ripe old age of seventy-nine, she 
passed to her final rest, beloved by all who knew her. Since 
her departure, others have stepped into her place to carry on 



A GLANCE AT RURAL DISTRICTS. 287 

the good work, started so many years ago under such em- 
barrassing circumstances. ]\Iay this home, so closely identified 
with the public schools of our city, continue in the future as it 
has in the past, to be supported by a generous public. 

It was, however, only a short time after Miss Summy had 
been chosen a teacher in the home, when the following reso- 
lution was ofifered by Mr. Jackson (who had been reelected a 
member of the board) : 

" Resolved, That this board has learned with profound re- 
gret of the death of Miss Kate Summy, the lately elected 
teacher of the Children's Home. In the few weeks in which 
she held the position, her ability and faithfulness were fully 
manifested, and her conduct was such as to endear her to the 
lady managers, her fellow teachers, the pupils in her charge, 
the directors, and to all with whom her duties brought her in 
contact. 

" Resolved, That we tender our sincere condolence to her 
mother and family of the deceased, in their great affliction." 

Miss Kate Buckius was unanimously elected to the vacant 
position. For what length of time this temperary arrangement 
was continued between the Lancaster School Board and the 
managers of the Home for Friendless Children, the minutes 
do not disclose. That it supplied an immediate want and was 
a most worthy project, is not to be questioned. In memory of 
Mrs. Kramph and those connected with her in days gone by, 
we herein insert a picture of the home as it exists at the present 
day. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

JOHN W. JACKSON, THE ELEVENTH PRESIDENT. 

William A. Morton the Seventh Secretary — John W. Jackson the 
Eleventh President — Charles F. Eberman the Eighth Secretary^ 
What constitutes a legal Quorum on the Adoption of Text Books? 
Report of Committee on Reduction of Studies in the Boys' and Girls' 
High Schools — Depositing of the Treasurer's Funds — Resolutions of 
Regret on the Death of C. L. Steinmiller, George F. Breneman, Abram 
Shank, and Mathias Zahm. 

At the organization of the board, November 2, 1871, there 
was but one change, Frederick S. Pyfer retiring from office, 
to give place to William A. Morton who thus became the 
Scz'CiitJi Secretary during a period of thirty-three years. He 
held the office, however, but two years, until November 6, 1873. 
Elected to the board in the year 1867, he remained a member 
until 1884 when he retired. His minutes have the exactness of 
a newspaper man, being full, correct and well written. 

William A. Morton was born in this city, was educated in 
the public schools, passed through the high school, attended 
Franklin College, and later became a printer. In 1853, he was 
appointed a letter-carrier and served in that capacity for three 
years. Later, he became a member of select and common 
councils, serving- six years in the former and two years in the 
latter branch. In 1886 he was elected mayor, holding the office 
one term. 

" Billy " Morton, as he was familiarly known among his 
friends, was a most genial companion, a high-toned, conscien- 
tious gentleman. In the discharge of his duties as school 
director, councilor and mayor, Mr. Morton's record is worthy 
of imitation. Being of a jolly turn, he always had a kind 
word for passing friends ; and these could be counted by the 
scores in all walks of life. A Democrat of the old school, as 

288 




WILLIAM A. MORTON. 



25 




JOHN W. JACKSON. 



JOI-IN W. JACKSON, THE iiTH PRESIDENT. 289 

the chief magistrate of the city, he was broad-minded in his 
views, and liberally disposed toward those who differed with 
him on the political questions of the day. 

Two years later, at the meeting- of November, 1875, Joh" 
W. Jackson, not 1\v any means a stranger to Lancaster people, 
was unanimously elected the ElcTcnth President of the board, 
relinquishing the position two years later. Twenty-six years 
before, in 1849, he was elected to fill a vacancy, holding the 
position until 1882 — thirty-three years is his record — a length 
of service attained by but two other members. 

It would scarcely seem necessary to enter upon a review of 
^Ir. Jackson's life as a member of the Lancaster School Board : 
it stands like an open book, on every page of which he left his 
impress deep and lasting. Of his trials, both physical and 
financial, coming upon him late in life, to cast a cloud over his 
previously sunny (lis])ositinn, little need to be said, except that 
he bore them to the end with manly patience and resignation. 
We remember as a curious circumstance, that Mr. Jackson's 
death occurred in the same building which, for more than 
half a century he had occupied, as errand-boy, clerk, and 
merchant ; and that for forty years he slept in the same 
room in which he died. So methodical was he in his daily 
life that for more than two score years he sat in the same chair 
in the dining-room, at the Grape Hotel, where his bachelor 
friends loved to congregate. 

It used to be remarked in those days, that more than one 
middle-aged bachelor entered the school board with matri- 
monial intent. But that a very few ever succeeded in carrying 
out of the school room their coveted prize, should not dis- 
courage the young bachelors at present serving as directors. 
Let them not discontinue their visitations to the various schools, 
but wear their happiest smiles and never grow weary of well- 
doing. It has often been a question, never definitely settled, 
even by our accomplished member of the Legislature from this 



290 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

district, whether or not bachelors and widowers should be 
eligible to the office of director. Many say not, for experience 
has proven that they are beyond the reach of Cupid's darts. 
As apt illustrations, in years gone by, such genial spirits as 
Luther Richards, Henry A. Rockafied, George F. Breneman, 
Abram Shank, William A. Morton, and others, are frequently 
referred to. But why these charges when they are no longer 
here to defend themselves ? May not the true cause, after all, 
rest with the gentler sex, as a punishment for low salaries? 
This, however, is another of those delicate, personal problems 
bequeathed to us by the past. It is respectfully referred to 
the bachelors who decorate the Lancaster School Board of 
to-day. 

Others of the old-time directors were not without their jolly 
moods. It is related of William Carpenter, whom many re- 
member for his intense humor and pleasantries, that he would 
never vote for a teacher who hadn't a number one mark on 
her certificate for orthography. On one occasion a graduate 
from the girls' high school called upon him to solicit his vote 
for the position of teacher. With a twinkle of the eye, he 
turned and replied, " I have made it a rule, my dear miss, never 
to vote for any applicant whose certificate does not bear a 
number one mark in spelling." " Then, Mr. Carpenter," came 
her equally prompt reply, " you wall have to vote for me." 
" Why, why, how do you make that out, my young friend ?" 
" Make it out !" (placing her certificate in his hand) " don't you 
see I have a number one mark in spelling!" "I see, I see," 
critically scanning the paper, he concluded, as he followed her to 
the door ; " continue your canvass among the other directors, 
you can count on my vote." And when the time came she got 
it, became a teacher, a position she has continuously held down 
to the year 1904. 

" After graduating, with my diploma done up with pink 
ribbon, I was rec^uested to call upon Mr. Luther Richards, 




CHARLES F. EBERMAN. 



JOHN W. JACKSON, THE iiTH PRESIDENT. 291. 

whom we all knew to be the friend of the young' beginner," re- 
marked another of the board's faithful corps of teachers. 
" W'ell, imagine my suri)rise, when, after stating my errand, 
he turned and said in his usually droll manner. ' I am almost 
persuaded never again to vote for another lady teacher ; 
they are no longer to be relied (^n ; they promise to make 
teaching their profession, whereas, they seek the first favor- 
able opportunity to go off and get married. However,' he 
turned with a smile and said, ' I shall vote for you without 
exacting any promise." "' 

These, however, are but the trinkets of school life, gathered 
from the pathways of other days, along which still lay hidden 
many others that might be related did space permit. 

The election of ]\Ir. Jackson having been made by acclama- 
tion, was no indication that the office of secretary was to be 
settled in the same way : this position involved a contest in 
accordance wdth strict party rules. Thus, by a vote of i8 to 
17, ]\Ir. Charles F. Eberman became the Eit^hth Secretary of 
the Lancaster School Board, Air. ^M'Conomy and Mr. Loucks 
being reelected without opposition to their former positions. 

j\Ir. Eberman was elected a member of the board on the 
tenth of October, and took his seat at the meeting of November, 
1 87 1, following. He continued a director until the time of his 
death which occurred April 9, 1889. He remained in the office 
of secretary until November 2, 1882. In 1887 he was again 
elected secretarv, holding said position one year. As a matter 
of record, there are only two directors who have succeeded 
themselves as secretary after an interval : Mr. Eberman and 
Mr. Thomas F. AFElligott. 

Born in the city of Lancaster, April 12, 1830, ]Mr. Eberman 
received his early education in the schools of this city, com- 
pleting the same in Franklin College. Later he learned the 
trade of watch-making with his father. Joseph Eberman, and 
on finishing" his trade ensiaged in business on his own account. 



292 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Along in the sixties he became a letter-carrier under Postmaster 
John J. Cochran, serving' in said capacity until 1869, when his 
well-known ability as a clerk took him into the office of internal 
revenue. 

At an adjourned meeting of the board of directors held 
August 12, 1872, the following report on the " legal question," 
what constitutes a quorum for the selection of text books? 
was submitted by the committee of eleven lawyers, who, by 
the way, happened to be present on this important occasion. 
As their opinion may have weight in the future, it is herein 
reproduced, being the only time within the history of the Lan- 
caster schools that nearly one third of the school board's rep- 
resentation was composed of the legal profession. The report 
is as follows : " The undersigned, in obedience to a resolution 
adopted at the last meeting, referring to the directors who are 
members of the bar the question therein raised, " Whether the 
resolution selecting text books was passed in accordance to 
the law governing the case," now present the following report : 

" The resolution in question was adopted by a vote of fifteen 
to twelve, one director declining to vote. This question seemed 
to turn on the effect which the general school laws of 1854 
and 1862 — the latter being supplemental to the other — had on 
the special laws of this city, and especially the act of May, 
1854, which provides among other things, that ' thirteen mem- 
bers shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all busi- 
ness except the levy and assessment of school tax, the election 
of teachers, the purchase and sale of real estate, and the adop- 
tion of resolutions for the erection of school houses, in which 
case, twenty shall constitute a quorum.' If this act is in force, 
the action of the board is perfectly legal ; if, however, the gen- 
eral school law of 1862 applies, then the case is dift'erent, for 
by it, the annual series of text-books can only be selected by 
the affirmative votes of a majority of the whole number of 
directors, which majority in this city is nineteen. 



JOHN W. JACKSON, THE iiTH PRESIDENT. 293 

" The Supreme Court, in the case of Brown vs. County 
Commissioners, 9 Harris, page 37, in commenting on the effect 
of a general statute on a special one, say : ' It is against reason 
to suppose that the Legislature in framing a general system for 
the state, intended to repeal a special act, which the local cir- 
cumstances of our county had made necessary.' And again, 
Dwanis on Statutes, page 474 says, ' But a later statute which 
is general does not abrogate a former which is particular.' 

" It is a notable circumstance, that the number of directors 
in a school district is fixed by the general school law at six, 
whereas ours, under the special law is fixed at thirty-six. 

" The foregoing views seem to be strengthened by our special 
school law of 1850 (referred to by the act of 1862) the provis- 
ions of the thirteenth section of which, as well as the general 
school law of 1854 fiftieth section would seem in cases as the 
one in hand, to exempt us from the operations of the general 
school law. Upon the whole, we think that the action of the 
school board in the premises is not contrary to law. 

" William R. Wilson, 
" Daniel G. Baker, 
" John B. Warfel, 
" George F. Breneman, 
" George Nauman, 
" Abram Shank, 
. " Samuel H. Reynolds, 
" A. J. Eberly, 
'' J. W. Johnson, 
" Simon P. Eby, 
" Alexander Harris." 

On motion the report was received and the committee dis- 
charged. 

The reader has observed that this was not the first committee 
to wrangle over the various conflicting acts ; and possibly, not 
the last to raise the question, as to the status of Lancaster city 



294 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

as a separate and independent school district, in the enjoy- 
ment of all the provisions embraced in the act of 1850. 

Mr. Wilson, chairman of the Snperintending Committee 
stated, " that he had received a commnnication from Professor 
William B. Hall in which he offered to teach music to the 
pupils of the high and secondary schools for $1,250; he 
thought his services might be secured upon the same terms 
as last year if ten per cent, were added, and on his motion 
it was resolved that Professor William B. Hall be elected 
teacher of the high and secondary schools for the same com- 
pensation as last year, $75 per month with addition of 10 per 
cent." 

Following this came a report from the committee on reduc- 
tion of studies in the girls' high school. The committee had 
been instructed to include all the public schools in their investi- 
gation. " Your committee," the report continues, " cannot see 
how the studies in the primary and secondaries can be cur- 
tailed, for the reason that only such as the law requires (per- 
haps with a single exception, /. c, drawing, a species of pen- 
manship) are now pursued. 

" The curriculum, both in the girls' and boys' high school, 
seems formidable. Still the good standing of these schools 
hitherto seems to forbid any material change. The teachers 
are averse to any changes or reduction ; they are of the opinion 
that the studies as now regulated, will answer the purpose ; 
and with their judgment we do not feel justified in interfering. 

" We respectfully suggest, however, as a matter of primary 
importance that teachers in the primaries and secondaries de- 
vote a certain and definite part of their time, say half an hour 
each day, to give instruction ' by object lessons.' It is believed 
this may be done without perceptibly interfering with the other 
studies." 

In many respects this would seem to be a very sensible re- 
port, inasmuch as it suggests the propriety of careful inquiry 



JOHN W. JACKSON, THE iiTH PRESIDENT. 295 

among- the teachers themselves as to what changes should he 
made in the course of study to produce the very best results. 
On motion, the re])ort was unanimousl}- ado])ted and the ct^m- 
mittee discharged from any further consideration of the subject. 
On motion, the resolution relative to depositing the funds 
of the board was taken up : ]\Ir. M'Conomy, Treasurer, said 
that in accordance with the provisions of the resolution, he 
had addressed circulars to the several banking institutions of 
the city, asking upon what terms they would receive on deposit 
the school funds, and received the following bids : 

Inland Insurance Deposit Company 5 per cent. 

J.B.Long 5 '• " 

Eshleman and Ratlivon 5 " " 

A. K. Spurrier & Co 5 " " 

Diffenderfer & Bros 5V3 " " 

Reed, McGrann & Co 4 " " 

Reed & Henderson 4 " " 

Bair & Shenk 4 " " 

Mr. Wiley moved to refer all the bids offered to the Finance 
Con;mittee, with instructions to report at the next meeting of 
the board. Mr. Hartman moved to amend by instructing the 
hlnance Committee to make arrangements immediately for 
depositing the funds of the board to the best advantage with 
some reliable banking house. Mr. Wilson moved to amend 
Mr. Hartman's amendment by striking out the words " Fi- 
nance Committee " and inserting " Treasurer," which was 
ruled out of order. Mr. Hartman's amendment was then 
adopted, and the resolution as amended was adopted. 

The above report, resolutions and amendments may seem 
worthy of consideration, in view of the most unfortunate con- 
dition which resulted from the deposit a few years later. It 
also shows the decline in the rate of interest during recent 
years. 

At the stated meeting of March, 1873, it was " resolved that 
the Superintending Committee be and are hereby authorized 



296 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

to employ Professor William B. Hall, at a salary not exceed- 
ing $150 per month, to give instruction in the science of music 
twice a week to the pupils of the primary schools, including 
the " Home School " and the African school, from the first 
day of April next to the close of the present term." This 
resolution being adopted, marked the beginning for the teach- 
ing of vocal music in all the schools. 

We are now to record the passage of a very important and 
far-reaching resolution, the ultimate efl^ects of which may be 
seen in the large number of new school houses which beautify 
the streets of our city. Twenty years had come and gone since 
the last of the seventeen school houses had been erected. It 
is well, then, to note with special care the following, offered 
by Mr. Jackson : '''' Resolved, That in view of the necessity of 
additional accommodations for secondary schools, the Prop- 
erty Committee be and are hereby authorized, in their discre- 
tion, to purchase suitable lots or pieces of ground, in each of 
the four old divisions of the city (there being now nine wards) 
of not less than 100 by 150 feet, and as nearly central as pos- 
sible in each, for the purpose of erecting such buildings as the 
board may hereafter direct, and as the wants of the district 
may demand." This resolution was adopted with the amend- 
ment, " that before concluding the purchase the committee 
shall refer the same to the board for its approval." 

At the May meeting of 1873 the Finance Committee's report 
showed no reduction in the tax-rate of seven mills on the 
dollar. 

Turning to the meeting of May 26, we find the minutes con- 
tain the following pathetic resolution : " Resolved, That this 
board has heard with feelings of the deepest sorrow of the 
death of Charles L. Steinmiller, principal of the combined 
German and English school; that in his death the school has 
met with an almost irreparable loss, the board and the com- 
munity have lost a faithful teacher, who, as a faithful instruc- 



JOHN W. JACKSON, THE iiTH PRESIDENT. 297 

tor of young children, has seldom been equalled, and rarely, 
if ever, excelled. 

"Resolved, I. That as a useful citizen and member of so- 
ciety, though humble and unol)trusive in deportment, he was 
a model for the imitation of more pretentious men, who might 
profit by his career. Few wielded a greater influence for good 
upon those around him, which we feel assured will be seen 
and acknowledged in the future. 

" 2. That though to many of our people a comparative 
stranger, hundreds of young and old will miss his cheerful 
face and kindly greeting from our streets, and will long cher- 
ish his memory, and regret that his earthly career should have 
been so brief. 

" 3. That this board sanction the action of the committee 
in closing the schools until Wednesday morning, the twenty- 
ninth inst., and the other arrangements made. That we will 
attend his funeral in a body, and that we respectfully invite 
the State Superintendent of Schools, Dr. J. P. Wickersham, 
the County Superintendent, the mayor and the city authori- 
ties, the teachers and pupils of all the schools to join us on the 
occasion. 

" 4. That a copy of these proceedings be sent to his relatives 
and friends, and be published in the daily papers." 

Miss Annie C. Springer, first assistant of the German and 
English school, served out Mr. Steinmiller's term as principal. 
On August 7, 1873, Professor Carl Matz was elected princi- 
pal with Milton W. Gerhart assistant principal. Professor 
Wall was reelected musical instructor for all the schools at a 
salary of $1,250 per annum. 

At a special meeting of the board held December 27 of this 
year, Mr. Shank reported the following resolutions, which 
were unanimously adopted : 

"Resolved, That as members of this board, we have learned 



298 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

with feelings of profound sorrow and regTet of the death of 
our late colleague, George F. Breneman, Esq. 

" Rcsol-c'cd^ That by his long and faithful service as a mem- 
ber of this board, we have recognized in him an ardent and 
devoted friend of our public schools, and by his uniform cour- 
tesy toward his colleagues, a genial and high-toned gentleman. 

" Rcsol-c'cd, That as a mark of respect to the deceased, this 
board will attend his funeral in a body, and that the teachers 
of all the schools, as well as the pupils of the high schools, be 
invited to attend also. 

" Rcsolz'cd. That a copy of these resolutions be sent to his 
mother, with whom we sympathize deeply in this bereavement, 
and that a report of these proceedings be handed to the city 
papers for publication." 

The board adjourned to meet at two o'clock Monday, De- 
cember 29, for the purpose of attending the funeral. 

The meeting of April 7, 1874, proved to be a most auspicious 
one; even during these "panicky times" the finances of the 
school board began to show marked improvement ; the assessed 
valuation had loomed up in magnificent proportions, reaching 
$12,700,000, with a recommended tax-rate of two and one- 
half mills, the lowest figure it has ever reached. The State 
appropriation had gone up to $4,000, making the net estimated 
receipts $37,700. Truly, here was something to make merry 
over, this being the first financial statement for which the 
chairman was not compelled to offer an apology. Shall the 
annual tax-rate continue to decrease as the real-estate valua- 
tion and the State appropriation increase? We shall learn in 
due time. 

At the June meeting a comnumication was received from 
the comn-.ittee of Arrangements of the " Lancaster County 
Monumental Association," inviting the board to be present on 
the occasion of the unveiling of the Soldiers' and Sailors' 
Monument of Lancaster county on the Fourth of July, 1874. 



JOHN W. JACKSON, THE iilli PRESIDENT. 299 

How little can we realize that thirty years have rolled round 
since that &d\ when the old war veterans — the boys in bine, 
dedicated to the cause of a reunited country, this handsome 
granite column as a lasting tribute to their valor and patriot- 
ism. Long may it stand, as a lasting reminder of those who 
so nobly sacrificed their lives in the hour of our nation's great- 
est peril. Inspiring as have been the lessons of patriotism 
taught in the church, the home and in the school, how much 
greater the lessons conveyed to old and young, by this cher- 
ished emblem of a once-more reunited and happy people. 

It will be recalled that at the special meeting of December, 
1873, ]\Ir. Abram Shank offered a series of resolutions on the 
death of his colleague, George F. Breneman. A short six 
months later the board was summoned to witness the follow- 



" Whereas, It has pleased an All-Wise Providence to re- 
move from our midst, and from the active duties of life, in 
the midst of his usefulness, Abram Shank, Esq. ; therefore, be 
it resolved by this Board of Directors as follows : 

" First, That in his death the community has lost one of its 
most useful citizens, the cause of common school education 
one of its most useful and warmest advocates, and this board 
one of its earnest members, whose loss will be sensibly felt. 

" Second, That as a mark of respect to his memory, this 
board hereby orders all the public schools of the city to be 
closed on Friday afternoon, 19th inst. ; that we will attend his 
funeral in a body, and the teachers together with the pupils 
of the high schools are invited to join with us. 

" Third, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to his im- 
mediate relations with the assurance of our deep sympathy in 
this, their sore bereavement, and that a report of our proceed- 
ings be furnished the papers of the city for publication.'' 

On motion the board adjourned to meet on Friday after- 
noon at two o'clock to attend his funeral. 
26 



300 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Few there are of middle life who can fail to recall this 
genial, warm-hearted school director, as lovable in his private 
walks as he was sincere in whatever his hands found to do for 
the best interests of the schools. None knew him better, few 
loved him more sincerely than the writer. For three years we 
roomed together at the old " Exchange " ; and over on the 
second floor of the Coyle building we sat face to face, I, as a 
student for a time under his wise, directing hand, as an attor- 
ney-at-law. When they laid him to rest what a concourse of 
teachers and school children gathered round his tomb ! It 
seemed as if all the June roses in the city had been showered 
upon his grave. It was a splendid memorial tribute — the out- 
pouring of that heart-felt devotion to one who had ever been 
the teacher's friend. During his last moments as he sat by 
the open window, gasping for breath, he was planning how 
he might best help the schools of his native city. Truly, such 
a man's memory remains as sweet as the scent of the flowers 
which bloom over his tomb. 

Two short months had hardly more than passed, when, on 
August 14, the board was once more summoned in special 
session, not, however, to mourn the departure of one of its 
own members, but of one equally deserving, who, during 
many years had stood faithfully by his post of duty. 

Mr. M'Comsey, chairman, reported the following preamble 
and resolution : 

" Whereas, It is with profound sorrow that we have learned 
of the death of Mr. Mathias Zahm, who for a long series of 
years has been in the employ of the board, and believing in 
the propriety and justice of a proper recognition and commenda- 
tion of faithful and efficient service whenever required, in 
private or in public positions ; and, whereas, on account of his 
faithful performance of duty, his thorough, honest, unflinching 
integrity, combined with numerous other excellent qualities of 
head and heart, the life of Mr. Zahm, from his earliest years 



JOHN W. JACKSON, THE iiTH PRESIDENT. 301 

to mature old age, furnishes to youth and manhood an exam- 
ple worthy of then* closest imitation ; and, whereas, notwith- 
standing all the changes in the board, since its first organiza- 
tion, j\lr. Zahm has been unanimously reelected, and filled his 
position to the entire satisfaction of the board for a period of 
thirty-six years, the longest term of continuous service, it is 
believed in the common school course, since the inauguration 
of the system ; therefore, 

" Resolved, That while we (lec])Iy regret the death of Mr. 
Zahm, we nevertheless bow in humble submission to the All- 
Wise Dispenser of events ; and we hereby tender our sympathy 
and condolence to the bereaved family of the deceased, and 
mingle our sorrow with theirs, as well as with the community's, 
at the death of this faithful officer, kind and aiTectionate hus- 
band and father, virtuous and exemplary citizen, and truly 
Christian gentleman. 

"Resolved, That as a mark of esteem and tribute of respect 
to the memory of the deceased, we attend his funeral in a 
body." 

If the resolutions so unanimously passed by the board ex- 
pressed the sentiments of every member within the council 
chamber, as penned by Mr. William jM'Comsey, how can the 
reader help but feel that as the ink dropped from his pen, his 
heart was filled to overflowing, with deep, tender emotion. 
Yes, verily, the man who could give expression to these little, 
sympathetic touches of nature as occasion demanded is ever 
to be loved and admired. 

At the reorganization of the board in November, 1874, an 
event occurred so full of interest that it cannot be allowed to 
pass unnoticed. For the offices of president and secretary 
there was no contest, both Messrs. Jackson and Eberman being 
elected to their respective positions by acclamation. For the 
ofiice of treasurer, however, in addition of the candidacy of 
Mr. ]\rConomy, the name of Mr. Wiley was proposed, where- 



302 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

upon the former withdrew his name, saying that he had 
" served the board for thirty-six years, and wished to be re- 
lieved from any further service in the capacity of treasurer; 
I have passed through all the school board's various stages ; 
have handled hundreds of thousands of its money ; but feeling 
the weight of years resting upon my shoulders, it is time I 
should retire from the responsible duties of the office." Mr. 
Wiley thereupon became the FourtJi Treasurer of the board. 

It is evident that Mr. M'Conomy felt his days of usefulness 
drawing to a close, the very last of his old friends, the late 
Mathias Zahm, having passed away but a short time before. 
Three years later, January 6, 1877, the board was summoned 
to pay a last tribute to their old treasurer. 

Like the falling leaves of autumn, one by one the early pion- 
eers of the system dropped by the wayside, with younger men 
to assume their duties. Except, then, for the preservation of 
the old minute books, how little would remain to serve as 
reminders of those by-gone days? Within their time-worn 
covers have rested for years the recordings of more than one 
secretary, who little imagined that, in years to come, they were 
to fall under the scrutinizing eye of the local historian, to be 
given a new lease of life. Yet, 

" Lives of great men all remind us, 
We can make our lives sublime ; 
And departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time, 

Footprints that perhaps another, 
Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, may take heart again." 



CHAPTER XX. 

ERECTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 

Reduction of Tax-Rate to two and one half mills — Issue of Twenty 
Thousand Dollars in School Bonds — Driving of the First Nail in the 
Building of the Girls' and Boys' High School — Mr. J. I. Hartman 
Elected the Twelfth President — Difficulties in laying the Corner-Stone^ 
Dedication of the High School — Efforts to Elect a City Superintendent 
— Resolutions of Respect to the Memory of Peter McConomy — John 
B. Warfel Elected the Thirteenth President, Charles F. Eberman Re- 
elected Secretary, William B. Wiley, the Fourth Treasurer — J. P. Mc- 
Caskey Elected Principal of the Boys' High School — W. O. Marshall, 
the Fifth Treasurer — Close of the Schools for the Christmas Holiday 
Season. 

It has already been said that the Finance Committee's re- 
port, fixing- the annual tax-rate at two and one-half mills on 
the dollar, was a most agreeable surprise. It may also be said 
that the issue of twenty thousand dollars in bonds authorized 
at a previous meeting, the proceeds of which were to be ex- 
pended in the purchase of real estate if required, as well as 
in the construction of new school buildings, left the board in 
a more tranquil state of mind. This, then, marks the begin- 
ning of a new epoch in the financial operations of the Lancas- 
ter School Board. Heretofore, whatever indebtedness was 
incurred, was provided for, either through short loans or out 
of taxes collected from the already-overburdened tax-payers. 
In support of this scheme, it was argued that inasmuch as the 
new school houses in contemplation were for the benefit of 
the future, why should the present generation be taxed for 
their support? This line of reasoning was not without its 
merits, but it had its dangers also, which could not then be 
foreseen. 

However, at the March meeting, 1874, after nearly two de- 
cades had elapsed since the completion of the seventeen one- 

303 



304 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

story houses, the first step in advance was made by Mr. John 
I. Hartman, looking to the erection of a distinctive high school 
for the accommodation of both sexes. His motion was as fol- 
lows : " Rcsoh'cd, That the Property Committee be and are 
hereby instructed to secure the option on suitable sites for the 
erection of a high school building and report at the next meet- 
ing of the board." 

It was not, as will be seen, until the September meeting fol- 
lowing, that progress was made by the Property Committee, 
owing to the difficulty in the purchase of a piece of ground on 
West Orange street belonging to Michael Stump. As this lot 
was available for school purposes, joining as it did the school 
board's property, the committee entered into negotiations for 
its purchase. At last, after the matter had been submitted to 
court and viewers appointed, and an award reached, the Prop- 
erty Committee presented to the board the following letter : 

"Gentlemen: While I firmly believe I could have had a bet- 
ter price for my property from private individuals, I, never- 
theless, do not desire to incur any additional expense by con- 
tinuing the contest, and submit the following proposition : 
The school board to pay me the amount of the award ($4,950) 
with interest from the day it becomes a judgment ; take pos- 
session of the lot on or after the first day of October, from the 
alley, to within, say, twenty feet of the rear of the dwelling 
house; said school board to make a fence across my lot, and 
the one owned by said school board ; make a temporary gate 
in the Orange street fence of said school lot, and give me 
permission to move my stable on the front part of said school 
lot, and carry on my business ; and I agree to pay rent for the 
house and front part of l)oth said lots until April, 1874, the 

sum of one hundred dollars. 

"Michael Stump." 

This proposition was speedily disposed of by la3'ing it on 
the table. But at the October meeting the Property Com- 



ERECTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 305 

mittee rep(irtcd that " they had entered into negotiations with 
Mr. Stump and purchased said property from him for $4,950; 
that they had paid the said sum, taken possession of said prop- 
ert}-, received a title in fee-simple from the said Stump, for 
the same, subject to an annual ground-rent of twelve shillings 
sterling." 

With the unanimous adoption of the committee's report 
was actually driven what may be considered the first nail in 
the new boys' and girls' high school building. At the next 
meeting Air. Slaymaker reported that " they had disposed of 
the old building standing thereon for one hundred dollars." 

There are certain members of the board and others, hiHi 
school bo}s then, who can vividly recall, not ondy the old house 
and lot, but the owner as well. And if Michael Stump is still 
living, he can hardly have forgotten many a little episode- 
fun for the half-grown lads, no doubt, but doul^ly annoying to 
him, when on numerous occasions, their ball went flying over 
into his cabbage patch, with the rescuers in speedy pursuit. 

That the old man had his own time with the bovs will be seen 
from the following incident, one of many, which, in the end, 
impelled him to dispose of his holdings, and thus seek a habi- 
tation where no school boy was ever permitted to enter. 

On one occasion, as the story runs, while Michael was en- 
gaged in chopping the winter's w^ood, an accidental shot sent 
the ball almost at his feet. Picking it up and laying it on a 
block, with one unerring blow he sent the blade of the axe 
directly through the center; then gathering up the halves, 
he threw them to the disconsolate youngsters. Not to be out- 
done, one of the young lads, of an inventive turn, struck upon 
a scheme of revenge. In a short time another ball w^as pro- 
cured, in the center of which was encased a piece of solid 
flint about the size of an unhulled walnut. Awaiting a favor- 
able opportunity, over went the ball into Alichael's vard, with 
the players prying through the numerous knot holes to witness 



306 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the result. Michael's eye glittered as he laid it on the block. 
Then with a systematic swing he brought the weapon squarely 
down on the missile. " Great Scott, boys, look at the old man's 
axe ! " And away they scampered in search of a place of 
safety, as Michael Stump, bursting with rage, picked up a 
piece of the implement half the size of a silver dollar. It is 
said that revenge is sweet. In this i)articular case, one of 
many, the boys had their innings. 

At the January meeting of 1875, to get back to my story, 
the Property Committee reported the following : " By a reso- 
lution of the board adopted at the December meeting, your 
Committee on School Property advertised for plans and draw- 
ings for a boys' high school building, and have received draw- 
ings and plans from the following architects : 

John Evans and Son $25,000, withont heating. 

Samuel Sloan 18,000 complete 

C. L. Stiles 10,250 

J. W. Jack 18,000 

John Northdorf 10,000, about that amount. 

Action on this report was postponed, with the understand- 
ing that plans be left at the office of Mr. Wiley, prior to the 
next meeting. 

At the meeting following estimates were submitted : 

Mr. Stiles' plan $24,750 

Mr. Sloan's plan 32,000 

Mr. Bloomer's plan 37,ooo 

Mr. Evans' plan 40,000 

Mr. Daniel G. Baker moved the Property Committee be 
authorized to have a high school building erected the present 
year, at a cost not exceeding $20,000, exclusive of lighting, 
heating and furniture. Air. Eberly's motion to amend by 
making $20,000 cover the entire cost was voted down, and 
Mr. Baker's motion adopted. 

At the April meeting, Mr. Hartman read the following : 



ERECTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 307 

" Gentlemen: The Committee on School Property, to whom 
the selection of a plan for a hio^h school building' was given 
at the February meeting, respectfully report that, after a care- 
ful examination of all the points submitted by the different 
architects, they found C. L. Stiles' best adapted to the purposes 
required, and made the following changes : ' mansard front 
and rear, with three entrances and fire-proof stairway.' 

" The committee advertised for proposals for the erection 
of the same and received nine bids, all of which are higher 
than the amount appropriated by the board ; and as the com- 
mittee do not think it advisable to change or alter the plans 
or architectural proportions of the building, they respectfully 
ask the board to increase the amount, so as to enable the com- 
mittee to have the building completed in accordance with the 
plan adopted." 

By a vote of 22 to 7, an additional $5,000 was voted; and 
at the May meeting the Property Committee reported : " We 
beg leave to report that we have contracted with Swartzwalter 
and Morrow, of this city, for the erection and completion of 
the high school building in accordance with the drawings and 
specifications furnished by C. L. Stiles, architect, and adopted 
by the committee, for the sum of $23,900, and to be finished 
by the first of September next. We have employed Mr. Dan- 
iel AI'Laughlin to superintend the erection and completion of 
the same." The committee reported at the October meeting 
that " they had contracted with Adolph Basch for the erection 
and completion, by the first of February next, for the sum of 
$6,945, a two-story brick house, on Rockland street. Seventh 
Ward ; also for plumbing and heating at the new high school 
for $1,330." Supplemental to this report it was stated, " We 
have rented from ]Mr. D. P. Locher, the third story of his 
banking house for a secondary school till the first of January, 
1876." 

The estimate for the current vear, made by the Finance 



308 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Committee at the April meeting of 1875, was forty cents on 
the hundred dollar valuation : three mills for necessary ex- 
penses and one mill for building purposes. The report con- 
tinues, " We have made no provision for increase of teachers' 
salaries, interest on loans, and other necessary expenses that 
may be required, but have placed in contingencies sufficient 
to meet the expenses." Mr. Evans offered the following : 

'■ Rcsoli'cd , That for the purpose of paying the indebtedness 
contracted for the erection of the new high school, registered 
bonds to the amount of $15,000 shall be issued, in denomina- 
tions of $100 and $500, as may be required. Said bonds shall 
bear interest at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum, from July 
I, 1875, payable semi-annually, and shall be redeemable at the 
pleasure of the board at any time after July i, 1877, and shall 
be payable on July i, 1885." This recommendation was 
adopted with the amendment, making the whole issue $10,000. 

The vacancy created by J. W. Johnson, Esq., who had been 
elected district attorney, was filled by the Rev. Thomas B. 
Barker, a position he held for a number of years, discharging 
his duties as a director, as he had those of a pastor, with sin- 
cerity of purpose and loving kindness. 

At the organization of the board, November 4, 1875, it was 
felt that what the Lancaster School Board most needed as a 
presiding officer was a man well versed in parliamentary law, 
quick in perception of the duties required, and prompt in de- 
ciding questions that might come before the board. In search 
of such an official, the members had not long to look — he was 
found in the person of Mr. John I. Hartman, who was elected 
by acclamation as the board's Twelfth President. Mr. Wiley 
was continued as Treasurer, Mr. Eberman as Secretary, and 
John H. Loucks as messenger. 

To Mr. Hartman's extended career as an all-round business 
man it is not necessary to refer ; his many friends have not 
forgotten one who was at all times foremost in the financial, 




^-^^^^^s^^^ 



ERECTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 309 

educational and social life of Lancaster almost from his youth 
up. It is more particularly as a school director that he dis- 
played his abilities to a marked degree. He first took his seat 
in the board in November, 1869, holding the position, with 
one short absence, nearly to the time of his death, which oc- 
curred on Tuesday, December 26, 1899, in the sixty-ninth year 
of his age. 

As a member of the Finance and Property Committees, to 
the time of his election as the board's presiding officer, declin- 
ing a reelection after two years' service in said capacity, Mr. 
Hartman never shirked a duty, however indisposed others were 
to agree in his far-sighted opinions. He was one of the few 
who anticipated the growing wants of the increasing school 
population, and he set himself energetically to prepare to sat- 
isfy them. After the erection of the high school building, his 
attention was given to the construction of school buildings for 
the accommodation of the lower grade of pupils throughout 
the city. Nothing further need be said of this broad-guaged 
school official ; he has left his impress deep and lasting on the 
schools of his native city. What more could any school direc- 
tor desire than the confidence reposed in his integrity of charac- 
ter and judgment, by his fellow citizens ; and these will ever 
continue to follow the memory of John I. Hartman — a man 
who was at all times faithful to his friends, to his family, and 
to the public. 

There were others who served on the Property Committee 
during the erection of the high school building, whose names 
cannot be lost sight of : among these was that invincible chair- 
man, Henry E. Slaymaker, and his right-hand support, Chris- 
tian Zecher, old in years, but with an eye ever on the alert in 
looking after the school board's property. 

When the question of laying the corner-stone for the new 
structure came before the board, Doctor Levergood offered 
the following : 



310 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" Resolved, That the Property Committee he instructed to 
procure a corner-stone for the high school building, and make 
the necessary arrangements to have it laid with appropriate 
ceremonies." This resolution was defeated by a vote of 13 
to 12; when another was passed instructing the committee to 
procure a corner-stone and have it laid without ceremonies. 

" Yes, I can well recall the gloomy occasion, when we met 
to lay the corner-stone," said Mr. Slaymaker; "the weather 
was anything but propitious. Oh, how it rained ! But acting 
under strict orders from the board, the committee met on the 
ground, and there in the ' downpour ' placed certain of the 
school board's records within the enclosure." Whether deeply 
buried within the solid wall of masonry, rest the names of the 
thirteen who voted against what to them seemed like extrava- 
gance, the only living member of said committee is loath to 
disclose. 

Few at this day can fully appreciate the difficulties the 
Property Committee were compelled to meet, from the time 
the contract for the high school was given out, until some 
months after the fifteenth of September, the time agreed upon 
for its completion. If one of the members happened to be 
absent at the committee meeting, another never failed to turn 
up ; and many a ' tilt ' occurred between contractors, inspector 
and committee, before the building was pronounced ready for 
occupancy. At last, on the fifteenth day of December, 1875, 
Mr. Slaymaker announced at a special meeting of the board, 
" That the building is now ready for the board's inspection, 
before receiving it from the hands of the contractors." The 
certificate of Inspector M'Laughlin was handed in, " That the 
building had been constructed as near as practicable according 
to plans and specifications"; whereupon the board started in 
a body to inspect the building. In the evening an adjourned 
meeting was held, when the report of the Property Committee 
was again read. On motion, it was resolved to accept the 
building from the hands of the contractors. 



ERECTION OF A 



Kill SCHOOL. 



311 



At a stated meeting held January 6, 1876, Air. Slayniaker, 
chairman, presented the following report : " In accordance with 
a resolution adopted at a special meeting held December 6, 
instructing the Property Committee to make necessary ar- 
rangements for the dedication of the high school building, we 
would report that, on Monday afternoon, 3d inst., the building 




BOYS' AND GIRLS' HIGH SCHOOL, 1876. 



was appropriately dedicated in the presence of directors, ex- 
directors, the clergy of the city, the faculty and trustees of 
Franklin and Marshall College and Theological Seminary, the 
faculty and trustees of the Millersville Normal School, and a 
large number of citizens. Mr. John I. Hartman, president of 
the board, called the meeting to order, followed with prayer 
by Rev. Doctor Westwood, Rev. E. Greenwalt, D.D., of 
Trinity Lutheran church, delivered the dedicatory address. 
The studv hall and class rooms have been furnished, and the 



312 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

schools opened on Tuesday morning, the fourth inst. — the girls 
on the first floor and the boys on the second — all working 
smoothly." The word " smoothly " was no doubt used ad- 
visedly, for it was perhaps the first time for many months that 
harmony prevailed within this much-abused structure. 

From another reliable source we gather the following : 
" On the occasion of the dedication, the teachers and pupils of 
the girls" high school, and teachers and pupils of the lower 
public schools, marched to the corner of Prince and Chestnut, 
where they met the pupils and teachers of the boys' high 
school. The two bodies joining in procession, and, augment-ed 
by a considerable number of representatives of Franklin and 
Marshall College, the State Normal School of Millersville, 
with the judges of the court, the mayor and members of city 
councils, county officials and many others marched to the new 
building. An address was delivered by Doctor Greenwalt, 
and remarks made by Professor Brooks and Doctor John Atlee, 
who had been a director for a period of thirty years." 

Many of our citizens can yet recall the expressions of criti- 
cism which followed the action of the board in the construc- 
tion of the high school. There were those, as there always 
are, in every community, ever ready to charge extravagance 
in the erection of so costly a building, notwithstanding the fact 
that the members of the Property Committee were men of the 
highest standing. This, however, was not the first instance in 
which the members of the Lancaster School Board had been 
charged with a lavish expenditure of the people's money in the 
construction of school buildings. In the erection of the first 
seventeen school buildings, men openly proclaimed bankruptcy 
for the city. The colonial columns, which gave symmetry to 
these old-timers, were looked upon as useless ornaments and 
quite unnecessary for the purposes for which they were in- 
tended. In schoolhouse building, however, as in all other 
things pertaining to our local system of schools, a due regard 



ERECTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 313 

for the interests of the tax-payers should at all times control 
the actions of the board. 

Passing over much of value pertaining- to the opening of 
this school, we reach the meeting of February following, when 
a communication was read from the County Superintendent, 
requesting that photographs of the Rockland and high school 
buildings be furnished for the Centennial Exposition at Phila- 
delphia. On September 26, Mr. J. M. Johnston offered the 
following : 

" Rcsolz'cd, That as a mark of respect to the Governor of 
the Commonwealth and the mayor of the city, the public 
schools be closed Thursday the 28th, the hundredth anniver- 
sary of the adoption of the Constitution of Pennsylvania." 
The resolution was adopted with the amendment, " that the 
schools be closed on Thursday and Friday, 28th and 29th 
inst., to aiTord such of the pupils and teachers who desire to 
do so an opportunity to visit the Centennial Exposition, and 
to witness the grand display of fireworks on ' Pennsylvania 
Day,' in accordance with the suggestion of His Excellency, 
the Governor of the State." 

At the July meeting of this Centennial year, Dr. Levergood 
ofifered the following resolution : 

" Whereas, Believing that the efficiency and usefulness of 
our public schools would be greatly augmented by having them 
placed under the immediate supervision of a responsible and 
competent officer ; therefore, 

'' Resolved, That this board proceeds to the election of a 
superintendent of public schools of this city, who shall enter 
upon the discharge of the duties of his office at the commence- 
ment of the ensuing school term, and who shall receive for his 
services twelve hundred dollars per annum, payable monthly. 

" Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the 
chair, to draft the necessary rules, defining, distinctly and 
27 



314 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

explicitly, the duties of said city superintendent, with instruc- 
tions to report at the next meeting of the board." 

At the following meeting Dr. Levergood's resolution was 
called up, when Mr. Slaymaker moved to create the office of 
city superintendent. On motion of Mr. Morton, after consid- 
erable discussion, the matter was indefinitely postponed. The 
defeat of the measure was no doubt owing to the fact that 
there was no law on the statute books of the State, providing 
for compensation of a city superintendent. 

At the December meeting, Mr. H. W. Gilbert was elected 
second assistant in the boys' high school, at a salary of $75 
per month. The new rules adopted at a previous meeting 
were ordered to be printed on cards and hung up in all the 
schools, the purpose being no doubt to keep the teachers well 
informed as to their purport. This action will be understood 
all the better when we remember that rules and regulations, 
oftentimes covering from thirty to fifty pages of the secre- 
tary's minutes, had been promulgated from time to time, soon 
to become, in many instances, like the ordinances of councils, 
a dead letter. 

At this meeting mention was made of the receipt of two 
gallons of old rye whiskey ordered by the Lancaster School 
Board from a well-known wine merchant of this city. It had 
been purchased, however, not for their personal use, but for 
the gas meters of the various night schools, a little alcoholic 
stimulant being necessary to keep them from freezing when 
the thermometer was at zero. 

Glancing at the minutes of January 6, 1877, we find the fol- 
lowing resolutions were adopted : 

" Whereas, It having pleased Divine Providence, in His 
wisdom, to remove by death from our midst our late 
fellow-member and colleague, Peter M'Cononiy, who, for a 
long term of years, has served this board honestly and effi- 
ciently, as its esteemed Treasurer; therefore, 



ERFXTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 315 

'' Resolved, That this board has heard with emotions of pro- 
found regret of the death of Peter M'Conomy, whose long and 
faithful service as a nieni])cr llnrcof has won for him the 
esteem and confidence, not only of every member of this board, 
but also that of the teachers in its employ. 

" Resohrd, That in his decease, the public schools of this 
city have lost a faithful advocate and friend, and the city itself 
has been called upon to mourn the loss of one of its oldest and 
most respected members. 

"Resolved, That out of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased, the board will attend his funeral in a body, and that 
Mr. McCaskey be requested to attend his funeral with the 
first class of his school." 

A week later, on May 15, another special meeting was called 
to take suitable action on the death of Michael M'Cullon, 
" faithful in the discharge of his duties," and a " good citi- 
zen," words that speak volumes, and should be a sufficient 
epitaph for any man. 

And now while Mr. Hartman's second term was drawing to 
a close, it will be seen that many important measures were 
passed upon by the board. The high school term was ex- 
tended from three to four years ; a large number of additional 
teachers were elected to take charge of the rapidly growing 
increase of pupils. Trees were planted around many of the 
school buildings, and measures taken to recover from the In- 
land Insurance Company the money it held on deposit. 

At the regular meeting, November i, 1877, there were but 
thirty members present, and by a strict party vote, Mr. John 
B. Warfel was elected the Thirteenth President, over his com- 
petitor. Dr. John Levergood, and reelected from year to year 
until 1 88 1. However, the fact that Mr. Eberman was re- 
elected Secretary, and William B. Wiley the Fourth Treasurer 
of the board by acclamation, was no indication that they were 
any more popular than the presiding officer. The test vote 



316 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

having been taken on the oflfice of president, with the result 
as indicated above, there seemed to be Httle hope for the oppo- 
sition in continuing the contest. 

On October 12, 1869, Mr. Warfel was elected a member of 
the board, and took his seat November 4th, following. Born 
in Paradise township in 1830, Mr. Warfel received his early 
education in the schools of the district, from where he was 
sent to Lewisburg University to complete his education. For 
several years he was a teacher, and for seven years a member 
of the Paradise township school board, already referred to. 

The superintendent question, which had been before the 
board on two previous occasions, was again brought before the 
body at the April meeting, 1878, by the Rev. Geissinger, as 
follows : 

"Resolved, I. In accordance with the provisions of the Act 
of Assembly relating to the election of city and borough super- 
intendents of public schools, that this board meet on the first 
Tuesday in May next at 7 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of 
electing a superintendent for the schools of this city, provided 
a competent and acceptable person for said office can be pro- 
cured. 

"Resolved, 2. That the salary of City Superintendent shall 
be $1,200 per annum, and that the secretary of the board be 
hereby instructed to advertise for candidates for the office of 
City Superintendent." 

On motion of Dr. Levergood, the measure was defeated by 
a vote of 20 to 14, whereupon the board proceeded to consider 
the resignation of Professor William B. Hall, declining a re- 
election as Musical Instructor; also that of H. W. Gilbert, 
refusing a reelection as second assistant in the boys' high 
school. Following came an invitation from William Roehm, 
proprietor of " Schiller House," extending a " complimentary " 
to the directors, teachers and pupils of the public schools, to 



ERECTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 317 

visit " Schiller Hall." where might be seen a fine collection of 
stufifed birds, animals and other natural curiosities. The invi- 
tation was accepted with the thanks of the board. 

On July 25 following, a special meeting was held to act on 
the death of another honored member, Professor John Hart, 
who died on the Sabbath previous. The committee appointed 
to draw up a suitable memorial tribute, reported as follows : 

"Whereas, It has pleased an All-Wise Providence to re- 
move from our midst our esteemed friend and co-laborer, John 
Hart. And, whereas, by his death society has lost a good 
citizen, the comnuniity a kind neighbor, and the world an 
honest man, the school board a zealous member, and the wife 
an afifectionate husband ; therefore, resolved, that while we bow 
submissively to the decree of Providence, and mourn his 
death, we may learn the lesson of our own mortality. We 
sincerely condole with his bereaved family and tender our 
heartfelt sympathy in their present affliction. 

"Resolved, That as a mark of respect to our deceased fel- 
low member, this board will attend his funeral in a body ; that 
these resolutions be published in the daily papers, and be re- 
corded in the minutes of the board, and a copy be forwarded 
to the family of the deceased." 

Turning to the meeting of August, 1869, among the teach- 
ers elected or continued were Mr. AlcCaskey, principal of the 
boys' high school, Mr. Gable first and Mr. Glover second 
assistant; of the girls' school, Miss Sarah Bundell was continued 
principal. Miss Rachael F. Jackson first and Miss Margaret 
Erisman, second assistant in place of Miss Maria Gill, who 
was elected a special teacher of drawing in the girls' depart- 
ment. 

The meeting of November 6 showed a majority in favor 
of the Republicans by a narrow margin, \\diile Mr. Warfel 
and Mr. Eberman were reelected to their former positions as 



318 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

president and secretary respectively, Mr. Wiley was compelled 
to relinquish the office of treasurer to his competitor of the 
same political faith, William O. INIarshall, who became the 
Fifth Treasurer to occupy the office. 

Mr. Marshall needs no introduction at the hands of the 
writer. He was born in Philadelphia, October 12, 1840, was 
educated in the common schools of this city, passing from the 
primary to the high school. After learning the printing busi- 
ness he went into partnership with his father in the boot and 
shoe business, in Center Square, and there, for more than 
seventeen years, he continued in the double capacity of mer- 
chant and treasurer. Always polite and accommodating, the 
ex-treasurer may well rest content under the conscientiousness 
of having left a record creditable alike to the board and to 
himself. 

The organization having been effected, Mr. E. J. Erisman, 
who, it will be recalled, was a teacher as far back as the year 
1852, presented the report of the Superintending Committee 
with reference to the election of a Musical Instructor. " Your 
committee," continues the report, " received the following ap- 
plications for teachers of music in the public schools, namely, 
John B. Kevinskie, A. J. Mooney, Mrs. Reinfried, Miss Nellie 
Johnston and Carl Matz. Your committee after giving the 
matter due consideration, are of the opinion that it would be 
of great advantage to the interest of the schools, if the labors 
of musical instructor would be divided. We would therefore 
recommend that one teacher be employed in the high schools 
and one for the primary and secondary schools ; and also rec- 
ommend that Professor Alatz be employed to teach music in 
the high schools at a salary of $100 per month, and that the 
hours of instruction be from 4 :30 to 5 o'clock. We recom- 
mend that Mr. Kevinskie be employed as teacher in the other 
schools at a salary of $500 per annum." After considerable 
discussion, the report was adopted, and the question of music 
settled. 




WILLIAM O. MARSHALL. 



ERECTION OF A HIGH SCHOOL. 319 

We are now to enter step by step on whid may be more 
particularly designated the second era of school house build- 
ing'. This epoch dates back to the time of the construction of 
the Rockland and high school buildings, which were completed 
in 1876. 

It was at the meeting of November 6, of this year 1879, 
that Dr. Levergood offered a resolution instructing the Prop- 
erty Committee to report at the next meeting the names of 
all who have properties to offer for school sites, with their 
location and price. At the meeting following, the committee 
reported no less than a dozen school sites in various parts of 
the city, when, on motion of Mr. Eberly, the committee was 
authorized to purchase 113 front and 200 feet deep of the lot 
offered by Mr. George Hartman at $20 per foot, located on 
the northwest corner of Lemon and Charlotte. 

Over this resolution a spirited discussion followed, with the 
following as a substitute for ]\lr. Eberly's motion, oft'ered by 
the Rev. Mr. Geissinger : 

" Resolved, That a committee of five members of the board 
be appointed to consider the subject of the erection of new 
school houses for Lancaster city, with instructions to submit 
a plan or plans for the same at the next meeting of the board." 

Dr. Levergood moved to postpone the consideration of the 
matter for the present. This was voted down, and Mr. Geis- 
singer's substitute adopted by the following vote, viz. : Messrs. 
Baker, D. G., Brosius, Erisman, Geissinger, Jackson, Lever- 
good, M'Comsey, Morton, Reimensnyder, Rhoads, Snyder, 
Richards, Westheffer, Smeych and Warfel (15) voting yea; 
and Messrs. Baker, P. D., Cochran, Eberly, Eberman, Evans, 
Johnston, Marshall, Samson, Zecher, Christian (9) voting 
nay. 

In anticipation of what is to follow, too much stress can- 
not be laid on the vote just recorded. The resolution of Rev. 



320 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Mr. Geissing'er may be said to have been most timel}^ serving, 
as the reader shall learn, as the very foundation of the Lan- 
caster School Board's future building operations. The com- 
mittee appointed by the chair comprised the following mem- 
bers : D. H. Geissinger, William M'Comsey, H. Z. Rhoads, 
Thomas B. Cochran and E. J. Erisman. 

Immediately before adjournment, it was resolved to close 
the schools during the Christmas holidays, to reopen January 
5, 1880. What more fitting adjournment than for the mem- 
bers to return to their firesides, there to participate in the good 
things which this joyous Christmas-tide always has in store 
for young and old. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

NEW SCHOOL HOUSES FOR LANCASTER CrfY. 

Special Committee's Report on the Subject of New School Houses 
for Lancaster City — Finance Committee's Report — Erection of the 
Lemon Street Building — Election of Dr. R. K. Buehrle as Superin- 
tendent — Trouble over the withholding of the State Appropriation. 

The Christmas season having drawn to a close, the New 
Year's Day meeting of this frnitful year, 1880, was to prove 
of unusnal interest to the board assembled in council chamber. 
The special committee, of which Rev. D. H. Geissinger was 
chairman, had not by any means been idle ; for, no sooner had 
the roll been called and the minutes approved than the follow- 
ing report came up as unfinished business : 

"Gentlemen: The committee appointed at the last stated 
meeting of the board to consider the subject of new school 
houses for Lancaster city, with instructions to submit a plan 
for the systematic location and erection of the same, having 
carefully and fully attended to the important matter com- 
mitted to them as they conveniently could, would respectfully 
report the following items, together with the principal reasons 
for their adoption by the committee as the result of their labors : 

" First. The present arrangement of the Lancaster City 
School District into four divisions forn:ed by the intersection 
of King and Queen streets at Centre Square shall be retained. 
This arrangement of the district into four divisions is a natural 
one. The boundaries are plain. The divisions are not greatly 
unequal. The enrollment of primary and secondary pupils in 
these respective divisions is as follows : Northwest, 828 ; north- 
east, 653; southeast, 681 ; southwest, 718. 

"Second. Ample school accommodations shall be provided 
in each respective division for all the primary and secondary 

321 



322 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

pupils who reside within the Hmits of said division. The ad- 
vantages of having school accommodations for the primary and 
secondary pupils within the divisions in which they live, and, 
in so far as possible in the same building, are : firstly, the 
great convenience of access, and secondly, children of the same 
families and localities, attending school at the same place, will 
enable the larger children tO' accompany and take care of the 
smaller ones. 

'' Third. The board shall provide as soon as practicable for 
the erection of four new buildings, one for each of the four 
divisions of the city, with accommodations in each building for 
both the primary and secondary pupils of said division, who are 
not already, or who may not hereafter be otherwise provided 
for. 

" The erection of four new buildings, one in each of the four 
divisions of the city, not of equal capacity, but of such capacity 
in each case as the circumstances may require, is, in the 
opinion of your committee, the most practical and economical 
plan for providing accommodations for the pupils of the pri- 
mary and secondary departments of our schools, and also for 
improving the organization and increasing the efficiency of the 
schools. In the southeast division it would not be necessary 
for the new building to have accommodations for more than 
550 pupils. 

"Fourth. The new buildings shall be erected upon the sites 
already in the possession of the board, in so far as these sites 
may be deemed eligible. Upon investigation, your committee 
find that perhaps the most eligible sites for school houses in the 
different divisions, which are available, are those at present in 
possession of the board. The lot on Lemon and Lime streets, 
in the northeast division, in a central locality of the division, 
has an extent of 132 by 248 feet. The lot on West Chestnut 
street, in the northwest division has an extent of 127 by 268 
feet. The lot on South Duke street in the southeast division, 



NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 323 

has an extent of 150 by 236 feet. These lots, though not per- 
haps, as large as might be desired, are yet large enough for 
the erection of the buildings proposed. 

'' Fifth. The new buildings shall be constructed on the 
single-room plan. They shall be two stories high. The rooms 
for the primary schools shall have a capacity for sixty pupils, 
with a lloor surface for each pupil of at least nine square 
feet. The rooms for the secondary schools shall have a 
capacity for fifty pupils, with a floor surface to each pupil of 
at least thirteen square feet. All the school rooms shall be 
furnished with single seats and desks for each pupil, and in 
the construction of the buildings, special attention shall be paid 
to lighting, heating and ventilation of all apartments. 

" The matters referred to in this item we think will recom- 
mend themselves to every thoughtful and sincere friend of the 
children of the public schools. There is no doubt in the minds 
of your committee that the foundation of disease and of moral, 
as well as of physical wretchedness, are often laid in the un- 
comfortable appointments, unequal temperature and vitiated 
atmosphere of public school rooms. We believe also that great 
advantages in regard to order, discipline and efficient work 
will result from having not only single rooms for the separate 
schools, but also single desks and seats for the scholars. 

''Sixth. The new^ building shall be erected in the northeast 
division, on the lot now owned by the board, and located in 
the northwest corner of Lime and Lemon streets. 

" After careful consideration of the whole field, your com- 
mittee are of the opinion that the erection of the new^ building 
in the northeast division will best meet and relieve the imme- 
diate necessities of the present circumstances. The northeast 
division with 235 secondary pupils has no secondary school 
at all. The location of the building at Lime and Lemon streets 
is such that the secondary pupils, as well as some of the pri- 
mary pupils from the northeast portion of the northwest divi- 



324 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

sion, can be conveniently accommodated in it, until the new 
building contemplated in this plan is erected in the northwest 
division. Thus, we believe that the northwest division could 
be easily relieved to such an extent as to make the Prince 
street building ample in its accommodation for all the second- 
ary pupils remaining within that division. If the first build- 
ing be located in the northeast division, the southeast division 
will also be relieved sufficiently to warrant the withdrawal of 
Miss Hantch's school entirely and the restoration of Mr. Gates' 
school from its present inconvenient location to its former 
quarters. 

" We would also recommend that the lot on Lemon street, 
on account of its extent, is, of all the sites in the city, best 
adapted to immediate erection of a new building. The work- 
could be commenced at once without the waste of a foot of 
ground and without disturbing the schools. 

" Seventh. The building to be erected at Lime and Lemon 
streets shall contain tzvelz'c rooms, with an aggregate minimum 
capacity for 660 pupils. A building with twelve rooms and 
seating capacity for 660 pupils will not be too large. The 
extent of the lot is sufhcient for a building of that size. The 
pupils enrolled from that division at present number 681, and 
then we should remember that we build for the future. 

"Eighth. As the necessity may arise, other school buildings 
of the recjuired capacity shall be erected on the same general 
plan of the four large buildings, in the districts which are so 
situated as to make the central or main building of the division 
difficult or inconvenient of access. 

" By this item it will be seen that the plan submitted in this 
report contemplates that there shall be, ultimately, ten school 
buildings and an additional building of such dimensions as 
may be required. In the southeast division on Rockland 
street, in the northwest division, at Prince and Chestnut 
streets, these second buildings are already erected. In the 



NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 325 

northeast and southwest divisions, it will doubtless be found 
necessary, in a few years, to have second buildings of a similar 
character. 

" Ni)ifli. As rapidly as the new buildings provided for in 
this plan are completed, the primary and secondary schools of 
Lancaster city shall be reorganized on the single room plan, 
with one teacher for each room. 

" Appreciating the importance of the whole subject, the 
consideration of which ought to have occupied our serious 
attention long ago, your committee would most earnestly urge 
upon the board the necessity of prompt and efficient action. 

" Let the plan herewith submitted be thoroughly discussed, 
and either approved or made to give place to something better. 
It is a humiliating fact that Lancaster city, the pioneer in the 
great public school movement, should, in many respects, be so 
far behind in the condition and appointments of her schools. 

" The true education of the children of the community is 
the very first thing to be looked after and carefully attended 
to. No other interest, private or public, takes precedence of 
it. It is the first duty which comes, either to the man or to 
the citizen. 

" In view, therefore, of the vast importance of the work 
before us, your committee beg the members of the board 
thoroughly and promptly to consider all the matters referred 
to in the report which is herewith respectfully submitted. 

" Signed, 

" D. H. Geissinger, 
" William M'Comsey, 
"H. Z. Rhoads, 
" Thomas B. Cochran, 
" E. J. Erisman." 

At the February meeting the report of the special committee 
on new school houses was taken up and voted on seriatim. 
Articles i and 2 were adopted unanimously ; the other seven 
28 



326 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

received the affirmative votes of a majority of the members, 
after a long and heated discussion. 

After the battle had been fought and won, the chairman, 
Mr. Geissinger, handed the secretary the following: 



" Lancaster, Pa., February 5, il 
" I have the honor herewith to tender my resignation as a 
member of your board, having permanently removed from 
your city. Permit me to acknowledge the courtesy which I 
have received during my association with you, and wish you 
great success in all your efforts to promote the cause of popu- 
lar education. 

" Respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" D. H. Geissinger." 

On motion, the resignation was accepted, and the following 
resolution unanimously passed : 

'' Resolved, That this board convey to Rev. H. D. Geis- 
singer an expression of their regret, that his new field of labor 
has rendered it necessary for him to sever his association with 
the board, and hereby tender him their sincere thanks for his 
zeal and efficiency while a member of this body." 

Mr. J. I. Hartman then moved that " the Property Com- 
mittee be instructed to advertise for plans and specifications 
for the building contemplated by the action of the board," 
which was agreed to. Immediately before adjournment Wil- 
liam A. Wilson was elected to the vacancy created by Rev. 
Geissinger. 

At the April meeting of 1880, immediately following the 
reading of the minutes, came the Finance Committee's report, 
as follows : 

'"Gentlemen: Your Committee on Finance, as required by 
rule 21, respectfully present the annual statement of estimates 



NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 327 

of pr()ba])]e receipts and expenditures of the schools of this 
city for the coming year of a tax of thirty cents on the hundred 
dollar valuation ; also the estimated value of school property : 

$11,000,000, valuation at 3 mills $33,000 

State appropriation 5-500 

Tuition 150 

Fines 100 

Amount from County Commissioners 1,400 

Amount in liands of 'i'rcasurer 4,000 

Total receipts $44,150 

Expenditures. 

Day tuition $27,500 

Night tuition 600 

Principal on loans 4,000 

Interest on loans 400 

Coal and kindlmg 1,100 

Books and stationery 550 

Salaries of officers 200 

Gas bills 100 

Water rent 80 

Repairs 1,400 

Janitors 1,200 

Abatement, 5 per cent 1,200 

Conmiission for collection 800 

Exonerations 2,000 

Contingencies 3,02o 

Total estimated expenditures $44,150 

" The above estimate," the report continues, " is based on 
the tax remaining the same as last year, thirty cents on the 
hundred-dollar valuation, believing it to be sufficient to pay 
all ordinary expenses required during the year. 

" We have examined the Treasurer's account and find that 
he received $22,922.48 and paid out $14,956.44, leaving a bal- 
ance in his hands due the board of $7,966.04 on April 2, 1880. 

" We have estimated the value of school property as fol- 
lows : 



328 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

High school building and furniture $ 41,000 

Rockland street house 10,000 

Prince street (Lancasterian) 10,000 

Strawberry 3.000 

Duke street, five buildings 25,000 

Vine street, three buildings i5>7So 

Orange street, two buildings 8,000 

Mulberry street, two buildings 6,000 

Lemon street, two buildings 10,000 

Chestnut street, three buildings IS-OOO 

Total value of school property $143,750 

111 the foregoing estimate are seventeen school houses, soon 
to be removed to make room for a newer class of school build- 
ings on which the Finance Committee placed a value of 
$79,750. As only the ground upon which these worn-out 
structures stood had a marketable value, the committee evi- 
dently understood how to make the best possible showing out 
of the conditions with which they had to deal. 

As these financial reports follow each other from decade to 
decade, it is of interest to note how gradual has been the in- 
crease in the board's receipts. At the beginning of 1850, the 
assessed valuation for school purposes was but $3,052,000, 
producing at a three-mill rate, $9,156; in i860 it was $3,414,- 
000, yielding $15,363, at a tax-rate of 4>4 mills on the dollar; 
in 1870, the property valuation $4,200,000 showing the pro- 
ceeds at seven mills, to be $29,400; while in the year 1880, 
with an assessed valuation of $11,000,000, and a three-mill 
rate, the amount of income is $33,000. 

Again, the reader cannot fail to observe how little depend- 
ence could be placed on the annual appropriation. Forty years 
ago, dating from this year 1880, it was something over $6,000, 
and in the last financial statement but $5,500. From now on, 
however, down through a score or more years, this item alone 
is to grow in amount beyond anything in the previous history 
of the school system of Lancaster city. Let the careful ob- 
server carry with him in memory the amount of appropriation 



NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 329 

for this year 1880, and later compare it with that of 1904, and 
draw his own conclusions. We hope, however, to approach 
the end of our educational journey so gradually, as to cause 
the reader to feel that, although the cost of conducting our local 
system of schools from year to year has been pretty " steep," 
the taxpayer has been getting the worth of his money. 

Passing from the question of finances, which has ever been 
the dominant one in our municipal life, we reach the meeting 
of April 8, 1880. In council chamber the board is in session 
to consider a question which, on two previous occasions, had 
come before said bodv only to be defeated. With Rev. 
Reimensnyder in the chair, and Charles F. Eberman, secre- 
tary, the following call was read : 

" Lancaster, April 2, 1880. 
" Hon. John B. Warfel, 
President: 
" You are respectfully requested to call a convention of the 
Directors of the Lancaster City School District to consider the 
matter of the position of Superintendent of the Public Schools 
of Lancaster City. 

" Signed, 

" M. Brosius, 

" H. E. Slaymaker." 

Mr. Slaymaker oifered the following resolution : 

" Whereas, The greatly increased number of pupils, schools 
and teachers under the control of the board has greatly in- 
creased the labors to be performed ; and, 

" Whereas, To secure the best results from the operation 
of our schools, requires proper organization of the schools, 
careful classification and grading of the pupils, a suitable 
course of study, the best methods of instruction and discipline 
as well as close and experienced supervision ; therefore, 

"Resolved, That the office of Superintendent of Public 



330 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Schools of Lancaster City School District be, and is, hereby 
created." 

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 22 to 7. On mo- 
tion, it was resolved that the convention meet on Thursday 
evening, April 22, to fix the salary and elect a superintendent. 
The secretary was instructed to advertise for applicants for 
the position. 

On the evening of the above date, the convention met with 
thirty members present. Dr. Levergood moved that the sal- 
ary of the superintendent be $1,200 per annum. Mr. Slay- 
maker moved to amend by fixing the salary at $1,500, which 
was agreed to by a vote of 23 to 7. 

Messrs. R. K. Buehrle, of Reading, E. C. Allan, of Amenia, 
N. Y., and J. H. Haldeman, of Westfield, Mass., were placed 
in nomination for City Superintendent, resulting in the elec- 
tion of Mr. Buehrle. 

For twenty-four years Dr. Buehrle has had charge of the 
schools of this city, and in all respects is as much a part of 
Lancaster's school system as if he had resided here from his 
youth up. It is, however, too early to speak of Dr. Buehrle's 
work as a whole ; but some things may be mentioned, without 
an attempt to review each year since he was first elected to the 
office. 

No superintendent, however gifted he may be, can accom- 
plish the impossible, nor, indeed, can he at all times carry into 
effect his own ideas. He has to labor within certain pre- 
scribed limits mapped out by the Board of Control. It is this 
body that adopts the course of instruction, decides what text- 
books shall be used, fixes the teachers' salaries, and in a great 
measure relies on the superintendent's opinions, except when 
they run counter to their own. 

During Superintendent Buehrle's incumbency in office, he 
has accomplished much for the schools of Lancaster. He has 
seen the teaching force increased from about seventy teacher.'^ 




CITY SUPERINTENDENT R. K. BUEHRLE. 



NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 331 

to nearly double the number; and, with the exception of tlie 
Rockland and the boys' and girls' high school, he has watched 
the construction of every one of the new school buildings. 
Differences of opinion between teachers, the board and the 
superintendent have always been, as far back as the time of 
superintendents' Day and Row ; and they always will be. They 
are inevitable under our complex system. 

During the first year of Dr. Buehrle's visit to the various 
schools, he was no doubt agreeably surprised to meet the fol- 
lowing teachers, whose names his trained eye will discover 
have almost all disappeared from the ofiicial list. 

Boys' High School. — J. P. McCaskey, principal, salary $900; 
James C. Gable, first assistant, $700; George N. Glover, sec- 
ond assistant, $750. 

Girls' High School. — Sarah H. Bundell, principal, $600; 
Rachael F. Jackson, first assistant, $550; Margie Erisman, 
second assistant, $500; j\Iira E. Gill, teacher of drawing, $300. 

Northzcest Division. — W. H. Levergood, $660; Mary E. 
Palmer, $395 ; Emma Powers, $385. 

Southeast Division. — R. S. Gates, $660; Elizabeth J. Neeper, 
$395; Emma V. Baker, $385; Ida V. Hantch, $385. 

Northivest Division. — Secondary, Georgie Bundell, $440; 
Bella M'Cormick, $395 ; Emma Green, $385. 

Northivest Division. — Combined, Clara B. Huber, $440; 
Anna C. Rathvon, $395; SalUe Dengler, $385. 

Southeast Division. — Girls, Annie C. Brubaker, $440; Sue 
Girvin, $395 ; Clara Lichty, $385. 

Southwest Division. — German, Carl ^latz, $700; Kate 
Bundell, $400 ; Minnie R. Witwer, $385 ; Sue Stanley, $330. 

Single Primaries, D. Roxey Bair, $380; Lillie H. Clarkson, 

$330. 

SoutJizcest Division. — Combined Primary, Mary Zercher, 
$385; Ella Alusser, $313.50; Alary Guthrie, $302.50; F. J. 
Johnson, $385; Henrietta Harkins, $313.50; Sarah Stiffel, 
$302.50. 



332 NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 

Northzvest Division. — Matilda Zug, $385 ; Emily Suydam, 
$313.50; Lola Zug, $302.50; Mary Miisselman, $385; Jennie 
S. Davis, $313.50; Alice Marshall, $302.50; Mary A. Dough- 
erty, $385; Julia Ville, $313.50; Blanche Lichty, $302.50. 

Southeast Division.- — Duke street, Mary L. Channell, $385 ; 
Mary J. Bruning, $313.50; Clara O. Spindler, $302.50; Lizzie 
C. Marshall. $385; Blanche M'Cormick, $313.50; Lizzie Car- 
penter, $302.50; Alice Gundaker, $385; Ella Carpenter, 
$313-50; Annie Carter, $302.50. 

Southeast Division. — Rockland, Kate Buckius, $385 ; Emma 
S. Brimmer, $313.50; Margie E. Gable, $302.50. 

Northeast Division. — Orange, Mary E. Stahl, $385; Sarah 
E. Smith, $302.50; Sue Harkins, $302.50; music teacher, Carl 
Ivlatz, $100; J. B. Kevinski, $500; African school, Dandridge 
B. Couzzins, $495. 

Of the above-named teachers, elected on the evening of 
June 19, 1880, the number still remaining in the service of the 
board in this year 1904 is comparatively small ; the places of 
those resigning from time to time have been filled by others, 
swelling the total number to one hundred and twentv at the 
present day. 

At the June meeting of this year, Mr. Brosius moved to 
reconsider the action taken at the previous meeting, " instruct- 
ing the Finance Committee to bring suit against State Super- 
intendent Wickersham for neglect of duty in withholding the 
State Appropriation." This motion was lost by a vote of 18 
to 8. Mr. Wilson, thereupon, moved to instruct the Finance 
Committee " to bring suit against Dr. Wickersham immedi- 
ately." 

Mr. J. L Hartman moved to amend, " that the matter be 
left in the hands of the Finance Committee, to use their dis- 
cretion as to bringing suit." Mr. Spurrier moved as an 
amendment, that " the Finance Committee be instructed to 
obtain Icsfal advice in the matter." The motion carried. 



NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 333 

At the following meeting, Mr. Evans, chairman of the 
Finance Committee, presented the opinion of Samuel H. Rey- 
nolds, to whom the matter had been referred, which is as fol- 
lows : 

" I have carefully examined the matter you have referred, 
' Can Hon. J. P. Wickersham, Superintendent of Public In- 
struction of the State of Pennsylvania, be compelled by man- 
damus to issue his warrant for the amount of the State Appro- 
priation due this School District of Lancaster City, which, for 
some reason known only to himself, he withholds'?' and have 
arrived at the conclusion that under the laws of the Common- 
wealth and the decisions of the Supreme Court having refer- 
ence thereto, the School District is without remedy to compel 
the superintendent to perform this ministerial duty. 

" Prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1874, the 
powers of the Supreme Court, derived from the act of 1722, 
were ample to meet the exigencies of the case, and it is to be 
very much regretted that by the provisions of the new Con- 
stitution the people are deprived of all the highest forms of 
remedy essential to the interests of a Republic. 

" By the third section of the fifth article of the Constitution 
the Supreme Court ' shall have original jurisdiction, in cases 
of injunction when a corporation is a party defendant, of 
habeas corpus, of mandanuis to courts of inferior jurisdiction, 
and of quo-warranto as to all offices of the Commonwealth 
whose jurisdiction extends over the State, but shall not exer- 
cise any other original jurisdiction.' 

" Under this section the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court 
in mandamus is restricted to courts of inferior jurisdiction 
within the State. Commonwealth ex rcl. Butler, vs. Hart- 
ranft, Governor. It being settled that the Supreme Court has 
no jurisdiction, have the Courts of Common Pleas jurisdiction 
to issue writs of mandamus to State officers? 

" That the Superintendent of Public Instruction is a State 



334 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

officer no one will pretend to deny. He is appointed by the 
Governor under the eighth section of the fourth article of the 
Constitution, by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds 
of the Senators for a general State purpose, and the jurisdic- 
tion of his office extends throughout the Commonwealth. 

" An examination of the law shows that Courts of Common 
Pleas never had the right to issue warrants of mandamus to 
any State officer. Wolf vs. Commonwealth, 14, P. T. S., 252. 
The act of June 14, 1836, declares that they (Courts of Com- 
mon Pleas) ' shall within their respective counties have the 
like powers with the Supreme Court to issue mandamus to all 
officers or magistrates elected or appointed in or for any town- 
ship or place within such county and to all corporations being 
or having their chief place of business within such county.' 

" Their jurisdiction is limited to the cases mentioned in said 
Act of Assembly; Commonwealth vs. Wickersham, W. N. C, 
Vol. VI., p. 265. The provisions of the new Constitutions to 
which we have referred having abrogated the power which the 
Supreme Court once held for the protection of the people 
against the exercise of an arbitrary dissension, or erroneous 
judgment, without conferring it on any other tribunal, the 
School District must patiently await the action of the State 
Superintendent, whose sense of duty, we may hope, will ere 
long compel him to obey the law. Upon this subject the Com- 
monwealth is very nuich in need of some direct legislation. 

" Respectfully yours, 

" Samuel H. Reynolds." 

At a later meeting, Mr. Evans announced that Mr. Wicker- 
sham had sent his warrant for the amount to the treasurer. 
The cause for the delay was no doubt owing to conditions ovei 
which the superintendent had no control. 

Relative to a motion made by Mr. Brosius at a previous 
meeting, and carried, that a committee of six members be 
added to the Property Committee, the chair named Messrs. 



NEW SCHOOL HOUSES. 335 

Brosins, Ycisley, Slaymakcr, Wilson, Rhnads and M'Conomy. 
The effect resulting from this enlarged committee was a ma- 
jority and minority report — the former being signed by ]\Iar- 
riot Brosius, Christian Zecher, George Yeisley, Thomas B. 
Cochran, H. E. Slaymaker, W. A. Wilson, Henry Carpenter — 
the latter, by H. Z. Rhoads and Robert A. Evans. As meet- 
ing followed meeting, it became only too evident that the plans 
as contemplated by the committee of which the Rev. D. H. 
Geissinger had been chairman, were not to be adopted without 
considerable change. Finally, the majority report was adopted 
for an eight-room house at the corner of Lemon and Lime 
streets. As will be seen later, those who voted for the change 
from a twelve to an eight-room building, voted a few years 
later for its enlargement by adding another story, at an ex- 
pense greatly in excess of what the original plan called for. 

This may be said to have been the first move on the part of 
the Lancaster City School Board to increase the membership 
of the Property Committee to more than double its original 
number as provided for by the rules of the board. The pur- 
pose, no doubt, was to inspire greater confidence on the part 
of the public in the committee's deliberations. That greater 
danger than a disagreement lies in an enlarged committee, will 
appear al] the more convincing before the conclusion of this 
volume. The minutes will disclose the fact that, in the con- 
struction of nearly every one of the nineteen school buildings 
since the erection of the boys' and girls' high school in 1875, 
the Property Committee was so enlarged as to make it all 
powerful in the councils of the board. W^ith a committee of 
sixteen out of a membership of thirty-six, there lies the danger 
of its being able to secure an affirmative vote on any measure 
that may be determined on in committee, especially, as is only 
too frequently the case, when certain of the other members 
happen to be absent from the board's meetings. These reflec- 
tions are shared by a number of directors, who have repeatedly 



336 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

felt how powerless they are in offering any resistance against 
what might be designated the " committee of the whole." On 
the other hand, with a committee of five as the rules of the 
board contemplate, there is at all times room for free and open 
discussion over any plans and specifications that may be pre- 
sented for the school board's deliberation. Without antici- 
pating the unhappy results in school-house building a quarter 
of a century later, may not the reader find a proper solution 
for disagreement in the enlargement of the Property Committee 
as above referred to? If the Property Committee, composed 
of five members, were considered thoroughly competent to 
recommend plans and specifications for the construction of 
the boys' and girls' high school, and later in overseeing the 
completion of the same, why, five years later, increase the 
number to more than double its former size? These are ques- 
tions purely within the province of the Lancaster City School 
Board. It is not, then, the purpose of the author to pass judg- 
ment on their actions, but rather to give expression to such 
impressions as the minutes of the board have from time to time 
suggested. In a duly constituted board of thirty-six directors, 
however, the views of the majority at all times predominate, 
resulting, in the unexpected happening at the unlooked-for 
moment, as will appear in the following chapter. 



29 




DANIEL G. BAKER. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

DANIEL G. BAKER, THE FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 

Daniel G. Baker Elected the Fourteenth President — Discussion over 
a Resolution to supply Indigent Children with Free Books — Memorial 
Tribute to the Memory of David Hartman — Curriculum of Studies 
for the Boys' and Girls' High Schools — Discussion over the Report 
of the Judiciary Committee on Free Scholarship in Franklin and Mar- 
shall College. 

At the organization of the board, November 3, 1881, ATr. 
Daniel G. Baker was elected the Foiirfcciifh President, the 
other officers retaining' their positions as heretofore. As the 
late J. M. Johnston has so graphically portrayed the character 
of Mr. Baker in his sketches for the IntcUigciiccr, we quote 
much of interest that from time to time flowed from his ready 
pen. 

" No one," he wrote at the time ]\Ir. Baker occupied the 
chair, " who takes a good look at the well-preserved face and 
form of Mr. Baker would suppose that he was born so long 
ago as the second of November, 1818; but this is the date, and 
Marietta the birthplace of his nativity. Mr. Baker is one of 
the oldest members of the board. He was first elected in 1865, 
and elected no less than four times thereafter to fill vacancies. 
First on the seventh of September, 1865, to fill a vacancy 
caused by the declination of David G. Eshleman, Esq., and 
served his full term. In 1868 and 1871, he was elected by the 
people and served two full terms of three years each. In 1874, 
the Republican convention dropped him, but during the sum- 
mer of that year Felix Senn, one of the Democratic members- 
elect, died before taking his seat. When the board organized 
the following November, Mr. Baker was elected to fill the 
vacancy, and served out Mr. Senn's full term of three years. 
In 1878, Mr. Baker was again dropped by the party managers 

337 



338 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

and he was out of the board from November, 1878, until 
August, 1879, when he was elected by the board to fill the 
unexpired term of John Hart, the Democratic nominee, who 
died a month previous. Mr. Hart's first term, had he lived, 
would have ended November i, 1879, but he had been re- 
elected at the preceding spring election to serve three years 
longer. Mr. Hart having died before taking his seat for a 
second term, Mr. Baker, on the organization of the board, 
November 6, 1879, was elected to fill the vacancy, serving until 
November, 1881. 

" The Democrats raised the point that Mr. Hart could not 
have two unexpired terms, and a motion was made to refer 
the matter to the Judiciary Committee, to report, but the mo- 
tion was voted down and Mr. Baker was elected. It will be 
seen that he filled vacancies of more than nine years out of a 
service of sixteen years." 

These frequent appointments, however, prove Mr. Baker's 
fitness. The board, as has been observed, has ever had cer- 
tain rights within themselves — and one so frequently exercised 
is that of filling vacancies. In the majority of instances the 
men so appointed had previously served as members of the 
board. But there were other notable instances when party 
interests were dominant. 

Mr. Baker, during his many years' service, served on all the 
important committees, the last of which he was chairman being 
the Judiciary Committee. As a leading attorney, likewise as 
a business man, interested in the city's welfare, Daniel G, 
Baker was among Lancaster's foremost citizens. 

Prior to the adoption of the free-book system, which fol- 
lowed a few years later, the supplying of books to indigent 
children became yearly an annoying one, the board scarcely 
knowing when or where to draw the line. It was in view of 
securing a more satisfactory distribution of books to the de- 
serving that caused Mr. War f el to submit the following ; 



DANIEL G. BAKER, 14TH PRESIDENT. 339 

"Resolved, That the Superintending Committee be directed 
to prepare rules under which the text-books may be loaned 
to indigent pupils in the public schools. That such books shall 
be the property of the board, that the teachers shall see that 
proper care is taken of them, and that when they are no longer 
needed for the purpose for which they are given, thev shall 
be returned to the teacher to be again used by other pupils 
under similar circumstances." 

Air. Cochran ofifered the following: 

"Resolved, That no order for books to any school shall be 
issued by any member of the board unless the parents of the 
party applying state in writing that they are not able to pur- 
chase them. 

" Resohed, That the secretary of the board shall furnish a 
certified copy of these resolutions to the principal of each 
school and to the City Superintendent." 

]\Ir. Spurrier ofifered as a substitute to the foregoing : 

" Whereas, The amount of money expended by this board 
during the past year for books and school supplies for children 
attending the various schools has greatly increased and has 
become a source of very considerable outlay of the funds of 
our taxpayers ; therefore, 

" Resoh'ed, That hereafter for all applications for books and 
school apparatus, or supplies for poor and indigent children, 
blanks shall be furnished parents, guardian or other legal rep- 
resentatives of said children, and it shall be their duty to sign 
and certify in said blanks that they are not able to purchase 
the said books ; that the orders upon which all supplies are 
furnished shall accompany the bills presented to this board 
for payment ; that all books shall be stamped on the twentieth 
page, ' The Property of the Lancaster School Board ' ; and 
that all other supplies and apparatus shall be stamped in a 
similar maimer; that all teachers shall keep an accurate record 



340 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

of books supplied to each scholar, together with the name of 
such scholar leaving school, either by transfer or otherwise, 
and by the teacher to the Superintendent for the use of the new 
scholar who may not be able to purchase the required books 
or supplies, and it shall be the duty of the City Superintendent 
to enforce these regulations." 

On motion the whole matter was referred to the Superin- 
tending Committee with power to act, providing that no books 
be issued until they do act. 

These resolutions may be considered the first initial step in 
the direction of free books and supplies for all pupils in the 
Lancaster public schools. If the advocates of this measure 
had been favorably disposed toward the free-book scheme, a 
resolution like the foregoing could in no way have been more 
effective. It reflects, furthermore, the condition of those early 
days, under the act of 1809, when the County Commissioners 
provided the means for the education of the children too poor 
to pay for their own schooling. To single out this or that 
child, indigent as he may have been, is contrary to the letter 
and spirit upon which the common school system was inau- 
gurated. The wisdom of the board is shown by the fact that 
at a somewhat later day they placed all children on a perfect 
equality in this particular. 

At a special meeting held October 12, 1881, the President 
stated that it had been called to take suitable action on the 
decease of one of its oldest and most respected members. The 
committee appointed by the chair to prepare suitable resolu- 
tions reported as follows : 

" This board has learned with profound sorrow of the decease 
of our esteemed associate, David Hartman. Death has suddenly 
removed from among us a member who filled with fidelity the 
responsible trust he held, who was always deeply interested in 
the prosperity of our schools and thorough investigation of 



DANIEL G. BAKER, 14TH. PRESIDENT. 341 

all subjects requiring his attention, and clear and courteous 
in the discussion of all cjucstions under debate. 

" He gave to the service of this board his best judgment and 
capacity for a period of twenty-five years, and leaves us the 
fragrant memory of an association during all these years un- 
marred by any variation from his usual habits of courtesy 
and kindness. 

" As a man, ]\Ir. Hartman was gentle and upright ; as a 
citizen, enterprising and clear-sighted ; as a business man, 
honorable and conscientious ; and as a director, intelligent and 
enthusiastic. To his friends he was true and warm-hearted; 
to his family afifectionate and indulgent; to his church, loyal 
and liberal. His whole character was filled and rounded with 
virtues, excellencies and capabilities which fitted him to adorn 
every station he occupied. He leaves an example to be emu- 
lated, a character to be admired, a name to be revered ; there- 
fore, 

"Resolved, That this preamble and resolution be entered 
upon the minutes of the board, and a copy of them be trans- 
mitted by the secretary to the family of the deceased." 

At the meeting of April, 1882, the City Superintendent was 
authorized to establish a city institute to continue for three 
days preceding the opening of the schools in September, with 
the understanding that the city schools should not be closed 
during the time of the annual County Institute. 

^Ir. Brosius, chairman of the Book Committee, presented 
the following report : " Gentlemen: In obedience to the require- 
ments of section 16 of the rules of the board, your Committee 
on Text- Books and Course of Instruction respectfully report: 

" That an examination of the course of instruction pre- 
scribed in the curriculum of the boys' and girls' high schools, 
has convinced your committee that some changes therein are 
demanded by the highest interests of the schools, and therefore 
suo-eest for the consideration of the board the following altera- 
tions, to wit : 



342 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

" For the first year in the boys' high school in the EngHsh 
course, omit Greek, Latin and natural philosophy, and intro- 
duce botany, bookkeeping and drawing ; composition to be as 
hereinafter provided. The mathematics to be limited to alge- 
bra and geometry. 

" For the third year, omit Greek, Latin, history and political 
science, and introduce rhetoric, geology, chemistry and draw- 
ing. Mathematics of the third year to be limited to geometry 
and trigonometry. 

" For the fourth year, omit Greek, Latin, elocution and 
natural philosophy, and introduce astronomy, moral philoso- 
phy, physical geography, rhetoric and drawing. 

" The classical course shall consist of the foregoing with the 
following substitutes, to wit. : In the second year, Latin for 
etymology. In the third year, Latin for chemistry and Greek 
for geology. In the fourth year, review of mathematics for 
astronomy and moral philosophy, and in the same year, Greek 
and Latin for rhetoric and drawing-. 

" The modern course shall consist of the English course 
with the following substitutions, to wit : In the second year, 
German for English literature. In the third year, German for 
geology. In the fourth year, German for rhetoric. The 
drawing prescribed in the foregoing course of study shall be 
geometrical and mechanical exclusively after the first year. 

" In the girls' high school, for the first year, omit etymology, 
natural philosophy and physical geography, and introduce bot- 
any and drawing; composition and reading to be hereinafter 
provided. The mathematics of the first year to be limited to 
arithmetic and algebra. 

" For the second year, omit natural philosophy and rhetoric, 
and introduce English literature, natural history and etymol- 
ogy; composition and reading to be as hereinafter provided. 
The mathematics of the second year shall be limited to algebra 
and geometry. French may be substituted for English litera- 



DANIEL G. RAKER, 14TM PRESIDENT. 343 

ture, German for natural history and Latin for ct3mology at 
the option of the parents. 

" For the tliird year, omit history and introchice etymology 
and geology ; composition and reading to be hereinafter pro- 
vided. The mathematics of the third year to be limited to 
geometry and trigonometry. French may be substituted for 
rhetoric, German for geology and Latin for etymology, at the 
option of the parents. 

" For the fourth year, omit history and natural philosophy 
and introduce astronomy, Constituti(^n of the United States 
and physical geography ; composition and reading to be as 
hereinafter provided. French may be substituted for rhetoric, 
German for astronomy and Latin for physical geography, at 
the option of parents. 

■ " In addition to the foregoing, the pupils of both high 
schools shall be required to have exercises in composition and 
declamation every alternate week, and reading shall be taught 
throughout the entire courses under the direction of the Super- 
intendent. " Respectfully submitted, 

" Marriott Brosius, 
"W. A. Wilson, 
" J. M. Johnston." 

On motion, the consideration of the report was postponed 
until the next meeting of the board. Again and again it was 
postponed, until in the end, it was allowed to sleep the sleep of 
the just — another example of the learned members of the board 
undertaking to fornnilate a course of study which it is impos- 
sible to put into practice. This recommended course of study 
evidently has never been tried, for it is nowhere recorded that 
these schools ever suffered from collapse in the endeavor of 
the teachers to fully comprehend the committee's report. 

At the August meeting following, W. A. Wilson, chairman 
of the Judiciary Committee, presented an elaborate opinion on 
a subject that is as apropos to-day as in the year 1882, namely. 



344 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the right of the Lancaster City School Board, to send the fol- 
lowing graduates of the boys' high school to Franklin and 
Marshall College — Samuel R. Slaymaker, J- H. Gerhart, 
George M. Dorwart, C. R. Eby, C. H. Obreiter and N. J. 
Blackwood. The report reads as follows : 

" The Judiciary Committee of your honorable body beg leave 
to offer the following : The Act of Assembly, consolidating 
Franklin College and Marshall College under the name of 
' Franklin and Marshall College,' approved April i, 1850, 
Pamphlet Laws, page 516, contains the following: 

" Section 15. That the trustees of Franklin and Marshall 
College shall cause annually to be instructed gratis, in the full 
course of studies adopted by said college, any number of stu- 
dents, not exceeding sixteen, who shall be citizens, or sons of 
citizens of this State, eight of whom shall be nominated by 
the directors of the common schools of the city of Lancaster, 
and eight by the trustees of the college aforesaid. 

" Your committee have some difficulty in arriving at the 
exact meaning of every part of this awkwardly worded sec- 
tion : one thing is clear : the appointees of the school board 
must be ' citizens ' or ' sons of citizens of this State.' They 
need not be graduates of the high school, nor pupils in attend- 
ance in the common schools of this city ; nor, indeed, are they 
required to be residents of the city or county. Any one, who 
is a citizen or the son of a citizen of this State is eligible. It 
is, of course, to l)e ])resumed that the school board will always 
give preference to the graduates of its high schools and to the 
pupils of the common schools of this city. That, however, is 
a matter entirely within the discretion of this board. 

" ' Shall cause annually to be instructed gratis in the full 
course of studies adopted by said college,' is a very peculiar 
expression, and its meaning is not transparent. 

" The word ' annually " means ' yearly ' — once a year. It 
does not mean throughout the year, and cannot properly be 



DANIEL G. BAKER. 14TH. PRESIDENT. 345 

predicated of a continuing- act, such as instruction. One may 
correctly say that interest is paid annually, but to say that a 
student is instructed annually, is absurd. Besides, if it were 
possible to instruct a student ' annually,' it would be impos- 
sible to instruct him ' annually ' in a full year's course of in- 
struction. This anomalous use of the adverb if understood 
as qualifying the verb ' instructed ' almost persuaded your com- 
mittee to believe the Legislature's intent to be that it should 
qualify the word ' nominated,' and that the school board and 
the trustees should each have the right to nominate eight stu- 
dents annually who would be entitled to receive instruction 
gratis. But this would give a frightful wrench to the syntax 
of the sentence. Again, if we adopt this construction, we are 
met by the objection that there might be at one time in the 
college sixty-four students entitled to receive gratuitous in- 
struction. It is hardly to be supposed that the Legislature 
intended to impose so onerous a burden upon the institution. 

" Upon the whole, your committee have come to the conclu- 
sion that the intention of the Legislature was to provide that 
at no one time should the college be obliged to instruct gratis 
more than sixteen students, eight of whom shall be nominated 
by this board. 

" As there are now in our college two of our appointees (C. 
H. Clark and C. L. Frantz) we have the right to nominate six 
this evening if deemed proper; and hereafter, whenever a 
vacancy occurs by death, resignation or graduation, it mav be 
filled by a nominee of this bodv. 

" Your committee are indebted to Professor Stahr of Frank- 
lin and Marshall College for information upon the subject- 
matter of the report. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

" W. A. Wilson, 
" Marriott Brosius, 
" Thomas B. Cochran, 

" Committee." 



346 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Acting on the results of the foregoing opinion, Samuel R. 
Slaymaker, J. H. Gerhart, George M. Dorwart, and N. J. 
Blackwood were elected to scholarships in Franklin and Mar- 
shall College. 

Before adjournment, it was ordered that " a loan of $10,000, 
bearing interest at five per cent, be issued to pay ofif the in- 
debtedness contracted by order of the board in the erection of 
the Manor street house." 

Mark the change : forty years before, it was necessary to 
resort, either to the Legislature for authority to borrow money, 
or to a town meeting. Now, however, all past, minor diffi- 
culties were overcome by resolution of the board to resort to 
a bond-issue, which, in due time brought sufficient revenue for 
the construction of the most commodious school buildings. 

In order that these bond issues which are to become so fre- 
quent during the incoming score of years may not be entirely 
overlooked, it is well to contrast conditions of the present time 
with those which prevailed when the Treasurer was compelled 
to go a-borrowing for a few hundred dollars to keep the wheels 
of school government in motion : 

" Lancaster, Oct. 2, 1849. 

" This certifies that George M. Kline, John M. Keller and 
Tobias H. Miller, Trustees of Monterey Lodge, have deposited 
with me this day the sum of five hundred dollars — a loan by 
said lodge to the Board of Common School Directors of the 
City of Lancaster. Interest on said loan at six per cent., pay- 
able semi-annually, to run from 24th September next. 

" F'eter M'Conomy, 
" Treasurer of Sehools." 



CHAPTER XXllI. 

A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURISDICTION. 

Dr. John Levergood the Fifteenth President — George W. Zecher 
the Ninth Secretary — Succeeded later bj' J. M. Johnston as Secretary — 
Resohitions of Regret on the Death of Peter M'Conomy^The Passing 
from the Board of Luther Richards, H. E. Slaymaker, WilHam A. 
Morton and Dr. Henry Carpenter — Resohitions of Respect to the 
Memory of Dr. John L. Atlee — A Question of Local Jurisdiction. 

If an} one of our (lirector.s shotild l)e a.'^ked to name the 
month of the year in which the most important meeting is held, 
he would more than likely reply, " November " ; for it is at the 
stated meeting" of this month that nearly every seat is occu- 
pied. In support of this statement, it is only necessary to refer 
to the minutes of Xovember 2, 1882, when the following mem- 
bers answered the roll-call, namely: Daniel G. Baker, Marriott 
Brosius, J. Hay Brown, H. R. l^)reneman, J. W. Byrne, Thomas 
B. Cochran, George Darmstcttcr, Charles F. Eberman, Joseph 
Samson, R. A. Evans, Henry Gast, F. W. Haas, J. I. Hart- 
man, J. M. Johnston, Dr. John Levergood, W. O. Marshall, 
William M'Comsey, Peter ^M'Conomy, \\'illiam A. ]\Iorton. 
Simon \\\ Raub, Adam Oblender, Rev. C. Reimensnyder, H. 
Z. Rhoads, Luther Richards, A. Z. Ringwalt. Charles Schwebel, 
H. E. Slaymaker, Daniel Smeych, A. J. Snyder, E. G. Snyder, 
John B. Warfel, Christian Zecher, George W. Zecher. 

The bringing together of this surprisingly full attendance at 
this November meeting we leave for those to explain, who, 
having participated in similar experiences, need not be told that 
" seventeen beats sixteen all the time "" when the roll is called 
for the election of officers. This was the state of the case in 
this year, 1882, resulting in the election of Dr. John Levergood 
as the Fifteenth President, over his competitor, Daniel G. 

347 



348 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Baker. By the same vote, George W. Zecher was elected the 
Ninth Secretary over his opponent, H. R. Breneman. 

For the office of Treasurer, W. O. Marshall was placed in 
nomination by the Republicans, and H. E. Slaymaker by the 
Democrats. A ballot was proposed, when in the nick of time 
one of the " absentees " suddenly made his appearance to pre- 
vent all being lost, producing a tie vote. Six additional ballots 
were taken with the same result — seventeen votes being re- 
corded for each candidate. It was unanimously agreed to 
adjourn until the evening of November ninth. 

At the adjourned meeting, eighteen votes were recorded for 
each candidate ; a second ballot followed with the same result, 
when Rev. Mr. Reimensnyder said : " It was evident an election 
could not be effected by continuing the balloting." He there- 
fore moved " that three members from each side of the house 
be appointed a committee of conference to devise a plan of com- 
promise. Mr. Cochran moved to amend Mr. Reimensnyder's 
motion by allowing each of the contesting candidates to select 
his own committee : the amendment was accepted, and Air. 
Alarshall chose Alessrs. Hartman, Evans and Brown ; and Mr. 
Slaymaker chose Messrs. Carpenter, Morton and Raub. 

The committee, after a brief absence, reported through their 
chairman, that they had agreed if it met the board's approval 
to decide the matter by lot. Again they retired, and on their 
return announced that Mr. Marshall had drawn the coveted 
prize. He was then, in the best of good feeling, unanimously 
reelected treasurer for the ensuing year. Mr. Loucks was 
elected janitor without opposition. 

There is no doubt that when the newly-elected secretary 
inscribed the foregoing he had a sort of premonition that sooner 
or later it would fall into the hands of some local historian. 
" They were a little too much for us," remarked the only living 
Democratic member of the conference committee, recalling 
those eventful days when party spirit ran high. " We were 



A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURISDICTION. 349 

caught napping; 1)ut when, a year or two later, the RepubH- 
cans suggested another ' draw ' of the same kind, we were 
like the boy who dreads fire." 

It would hardly seen: necessary to review the history of one 
so well known a director in Lancaster as Dr. John Levergood. 
Born in Lower Windsor, York county, on the thirteenth of 
February, 1826, in his eleventh year he was sent to the York 
County Academy. After three years in this school he attended 
the Strasburg Academy, of which the Rev. David McCarter 
was principal, where he remained until he began the study of 
medicine, with Dr. Washington Atlee in Philadelphia. Dr. 
Levergood died in this city, July 5, 1 891, in the sixty-sixth year 
of his age. 

On August 4, 1859, he was first elected to the board to fill 
a vacancy caused by the resignation of Alexander H. Hood. 
He w^as elected by the people in 1861, and his name carried on 
the minutes until December, 1862, when his seat was declared 
vacant, by reason of his absence from the city in the service 
of the United States Government. On his return from the 
war in the year 1863. he was again elected a member of the 
board, serving continuously until the time of his retirement in 
1889. 

It will thus be seen that Dr. Levergood, except for a short 
interval, was a member of the board for nearly thirty years. 
During the eight years he served as president the erection of the 
new school buildings was pressed with wonderful thrift and en- 
terprise. In the year 1883, the four-room building was erected 
on New street, and furnished at a cost of $12,000; and in the 
autumn of the same year the Ann street school house of equal 
size was built and opened. In the summer of 1884, the South 
Prince street building was erected at a cost of $12,000. In the 
summer of 1886, a third story was added to that on Lemon 
street, making it a twelve-room house, as originally designed 
by the special committee. In the same year the old Mulberry 
30 



350 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

street school houses were torn down and the space added to the 
grounds of the boys' and girls' high school. The Sherman 
street houses having been removed, the land was sold for 
$3,100, including land damages for the widening of the street. 

George W. Zecher was elected a member in the spring of 
1877, and took his seat at the organization of the board 
November 2 of the same year, serving for a term of six years. 
He was born in Lancaster, April 23, 1843 ! was educated in 
the public schools and afterwards entered the carriage and 
livery business. At the breaking out of the war he was ap- 
pointed to the Signal Corps of the Regular Army, and at the 
close of the conflict returned to Lancaster, where he became 
active in the local politics of the town. As secretary of the 
board he served but one year. 

At this meeting Mr. J. Hay Brown, in a few fitting re- 
marks, offered the following resolution which was unanimously 
adopted : 

'' Resolved, That the board reluctantly part with the services 
of John W. Jackson, wdio, for a period of thirty-three years 
served as one of its members with great usefulness and 
efficiency." 

A glance over the names present at this meeting, with that 
of Mr. Jackson's missing, reminds us how few are among 
the living to-day ! If this continuous change is so common as to 
attract no more than passing notice on the part of the board ; it 
is otherwise with the author, compelled as he is to observe with 
a feeling of sadness, the passing of the old. the incoming of the 
new. There is, however, a corresponding pleasure in being 
able to feel that where one director passed from the board's 
councils with the consciousness of duty well performed, an- 
other was to take his place, from whose endeavors even 
greater things should follow in the uplifting of the schools of 
the city. 




GEORGE W. ZECHER. 



A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURISDICTION. 351 

Two years have rolled by since Superintendent Buehrle 
assumed the duties of the office ; and while his monthly reports 
to the lioard have at all times been full, complete and sus^'gestive 
of the needs of the schools, to set forth these in full from time 
to time, is not' possible in a volume of this size. But quoting 
from his report presented at this meeting (of the year 1882) 
we find the number of pupils enrolled as follows : " In the 
high schools, 225; in the secondary, 1,122; in the primary, 
1,976 ; in the night schools, 192, or a total of 3.525." 

It was at the December meeting following that Mr. McCom- 
sey, chairman of the Superintending Committee, presented the 
report of certain proposed changes in the German and English 
school, as follows : 

" This school as at present organized includes nearly all the 
grades of a combined primary and secondary school ; and all 
study both the English and the German. The fact necessitates 
a subdivision of the time into periods too short, as well as too 
large a number of classes, to be taught with advantage by the 
present number of three teachers, especially so, since Professor 
Matz's time is also occupied in the high schools. Temporary 
relief, may, of course, be afforded by the appointment of an 
additional teacher ; but it would be only temporary. As the 
continued admission of primary children would still continue 
to cause confusion and eventually necessitate another increase 
of the teaching force. With the view, then, of properly grading 
and systematizing our German schools, as well as to increase 
their efficiency, your committee respectfully recommend : First, 
that Professor Matz's school be made exclusively a secondary 
school for the study of German and English : Second, that 
hereafter, no children of the primary grade shall be admitted 
to said school : Third, that the primary children now in 
said school be removed to that of which IMiss Zercher is 
principal, wdiere there are now only two teachers : and Fourth, 
that an additional teacher, qualified to teach German, be em- 



352 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

ployed to teach the German primary department, to be thus 
estabhshed in Miss Zercher's schooh With these changes it 
is believed we shall have a complete system of German schools, 
properly graded and adequate to the demands as we shall then 
have two primaries, one in the east and one in the west, as 
feeders to the secondary schools ; whence, those who qualify 
themselves are transferred to the high schools, where the studv 
of German may be continued. 

" Signed, 

" William McComsey, 
'' C. Reimensnyder, 
" Luther Richards, 
" John B. Warfel." 

The resignation of Clarence V. Lichty, principal of the East 
Lemon street secondary school, having been accepted, with the 
thanks of the board, Mr. A. R. Stamy was elected to the posi- 
tion which he has continuously held for twenty-two years, to 
the satisfaction of the board. 

At the April meeting of 1883, Mr. Baker moved that the 
sentiment expressed by the Superintendent in his report with 
reference to the death of Miss D. Roxie Bair, be adopted as 
the sentiments of this Board. The following members, Messrs. 
Rhoads, Marshall Byrne and George W. Zecher were ap- 
pointed pall-bearers, to attend her funeral on April 7. 

Mr. Slaymaker announced the death of Mrs. Constein, for 
many years the efficient janitress of the Duke street schools, 
and recommended that the board attend her funeral on Sun- 
day. The motion received the unanimous vote of the board ; 
a most deserving memorial tribute to a most deserving woman. 
Nothing could afford the author more pleasure then to be able 
to recall the names of the many faithful men and women who, 
for the past sixty years have performed these arduous duties. 
Their lot, indeed, in many instances, has been a hard one. 
Oftentimes have they been expected to overcome obstacles 




J. M. JOHNSTON. 



A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURISDICTION. 353 

almost insurmountable. If the thermometer is at zero without, 
they are expected to have it at seventy within the school room. 
On account of the slighest variation in temperature, or some 
other mishap, the janitor becomes chargeable with neglect of 
duty. Is it not well then, that these employees should receive 
such consideration, as their trying duties would seem to 
demand ? 

At the organization of the board November i, 1883, the only 
change in the officers was, in that of secretary, George W. 
Zecher retiring, to be succeeded by J. j\I. Johnston, who 
became the Tenth Secretary. 

There is always a certain satisfaction in writing of one who, 
while he had composed many pages commemorative of the 
good deeds of his colleagues, was yet too modest to lay before 
his many readers his own interesting life. 

Mr. Johnston was elected a member of the board December 
I, 1870, to fill a vacancy caused by the untimely death of H. 
A. Rockafield. In 1872, he declined a reelection, but on 
August 7, 1873, he was chosen to fill the unexpired term 
of Simon P. Eby, who resigned after most faithful service. 
Reelected from time to time, Mr. Johnston served until 1885, 
when he retired from the board. A few lines from his son 
Herbert, now on the editorial staff of " The North American." 
in reply to the author's request for a photograph of his father, 
(words herein inserted without his knowledge), may be pardon- 
able in the writer, who knew " Jack " Johnston away back in 
the early fifties. 

" The cut of my father," he writes, " was made unquestion- 
ably from the best photograph of him taken during the later 
years of his life, that is, before the ravages of the disease which 
ultimately carried him off, and against which he made a most 
heroic struggle, remaining ' in harness " almost to the very 
end — had manifested themselves. During the four or five 
years previous to his death, his health broke steadily, reducing 



354 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

him at last to a mere shadow of his former self; physically 
speaking-, his mind remained keen and alert until the 'last 
roll call.' His death occurred in 1889 when he was not quite 
64 years of age." 

In the daguerrotype gallery, on the third story of the Kramph 
building, at the corner of North Queen and Orange, Mr. John- 
ston started in life in this city; and many, indeed, were the 
likenesses he sent out in their little black cases, a few of which 
are still hidden away among the mementoes of other days. 
For a short time during 1851, it was our pleasure to assist 
the young artist in numerous ways ; one of which was to gather 
into his studio such public characters as were common to the 
town during those good old days before the war. A number 
of these might be mentioned, but one is all sufficient to recall 
as many as a dozen others. His name was " Harry Stiff," the 
gravedigger, who never buried people, but simply " planted " 
them. 

Harry Stiff, at one time a janitor in the employ of the board, 
was one of the most notable ])ersonagcs of the town, known to 
every man, woman and child, and he kept them all constantly 
reminded that he would be sure to be on hand when their time 
came to be " planted." In figure, Harry was somewhat 
" barrel-shaped " — nearly as broad as long. No chair was 
large enough to sustain his avoirdupois as he sat in front of 
the camera. His round, ruddy face, his immense cranium, on 
the upper portion of which grew a luxuriant crop of bushy 
hair, were all sufficient to make him a subject, once seen, never 
to be forgotten. 

It was among such characters as Harry Stiff that Jack 
Johnston loved to mingle, as an artist, when business was slack 
in other directions. To procure one of his many " celebrities," 
done up in its little black case, was to be one of Mr. Johnston's 
circle of friends. Entering the daguerreotype business in 1841, 
he continued it until the breaking-out of the war, when he 



A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURLSDICTION. 355 

assisted in the ori^anization of Company K, 79th Regiment, 
Penn. Volunteers ; and was elected first lieutenant. Later he 
was appointed commander of Company G, and after filling- 
several other positions of trust, was honorably discharged 
October 13, 1864. 

As secretary, Mr. Johnston was painstaking, accurate in 
transcribing into the minute book the proceedings of the board. 
As a man, he was brave, genial, warm-hearted. 

At the following December meeting Professor Glover re- 
signed as teacher in the boys' high school, and IMiss Mary 
Martin was elected to the vacancy — a position she has con- 
tinued to fill with marked ability down to the present time. 

At a special meeting held March 8, 1884, the following reso- 
lutions were read and unanimously adopted : 

" Wherel\s^ This board has learned with profound sorrow 
of the sudden death of our late associate member Peter 
M'Conomy, therefore, 

"Resolved, I. That in the death of Mr. ]\rConomy this board 
had lost one of its most worthy, highly esteemed and honored 
members. 

" Resolved, 2. That we shall ever hold in most grateful re- 
membrance his exemplary character as a man and his wise 
council and valuable service as a member of this board." 

" Resolved, 3. That w^e extend our sincere sympathy and 
condolence to his bereaved family in their deep affliction and 
bereavement. 

'' Resolved, 4. That we attend his funeral in a body on Mon- 
day next. 

"Resolved, 5. That these resolutions be published in the 
daily papers, and a copy thereof be transmitted to the family 
of the deceased by the secretary of the board." 

Of all the many memorial tributes paid deceased members, 
there was at no time a deeper feeling expressed by the mem- 
bers than on this occasion. On the morning of the funeral. 



356 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the members formed into line and marched to his late resi- 
dence, where they took a last look at his remains; and as a 
part of the solemn funeral cortege, they followed the remains 
to St. Mary's church, where the services were conducted by 
Rev. Dr. M'Cullough, thence to St. Mary's cemetery. 

It was only a few years before that young Peter M'Conomy 
was elected as the successor of his father, who had been a 
member of the board for so many years. It was hoped that 
the son might serve out an equal length of years, but Provi- 
dence had decreed otherwise. 

After turning over a few additional pages of the minutes, 
so accurately kept by Mr. Johnston, the eye instinctively falls 
upon the following remarks uttered by Mr. Slaymaker : " As 
this is the last meeting of the board I shall ever attend after a 
continuous service of nearly twenty years, I would return 
thanks to the members for the courtesies extended me, and to 
the members of the Building Committee, who have labored so 
long and faithfully with me." 

The following resolution was offered by Mr. Cochran and 
unanimously adopted : '' Resolved, That this board part with 
regret with the services of Luther Richards, Henry E. Slay- 
maker, William A. Morton and Dr. Henry Carpenter, who, for 
a long term of years, have faithfully served the common school 
cause in this community." 

Passing over the November meeting, at which all the of- 
ficers were continued for another year, by acclamation, we 
reach the closing meeting of this year — a special meeting, con- 
vened on the seventeenth of December. Like most impromptu 
meetings, it was called not without a feeling of sadness, as the 
following resolutions will show : 

" Whereas, Christian Zecher, having passed from the busy 
scenes of a long and useful life to the peaceful sleep of death ; 
therefore, 



A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURISDICTION. 357 

" Rcsok'cd, That in the death of Christian Zecher our com- 
mon schools have lost a true friend, and tiiis board a member 
who, during- his long- term of continuous service of twenty 
years, performed with zeal and fidelity every duty confided 
to his care, and the community has lost one of its most exem- 
plary citizens, whose whole life of nearly four-score years and 
ten, has been a continuous example of virtue, fidelitv and up- 
rightness of character. 

"Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of our 
late estcen:ed fellow member, this board attend the funeral 
in a body, and that these proceedings be entered upon the 
minutes, and a copy of the same be transmitted to the family 
of the deceased." 

]\Ir. Hartman in seconding the resolution spoke in the high- 
est praise of ]\Ir. Zecher. He was followed in eulogistic re- 
marks by Messrs. Baker, Cochran, Brosius and President 
Levergood; after which the preamble and resolutions were 
adopted by a unanimous vote. On motion, the board ad- 
journed to meet in common council chamber on Friday after- 
noon at half-past one o'clock to proceed thence to the late 
residence of the deceased. 

Passing to the minutes of October 5, 1885, we find they are 
the recordings of another special meeting, the board being 
summoned to pay tribute to the memory of one who having 
resigned from the board many 3'ears before, was not to be 
forgotten for the valuable services he rendered the cause of 
education from 1838 to 1866. There was a full attendance 
of members when the secretary read the call ; and when the 
committee appointed to prepare suitable resolutions returned, 
the chairman read the following : 

" Whereas, Since death has taken from us one who, 'for 
upwards of twenty years has been connected officially with the 
schools of this city, first as a director under the Lancasterian, 
or monitorial school, and subsequently as a director of this 



358 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

board, it is fitting we should take some action concerning the 
sad event ; therefore, 

" Rcsok'cd, That in the death of Dr. John L. Atlee, the 
cause of education has lost an able, earnest and long-tried 
friend. Active in introducing the first schools established by 
public authority in Lancaster city, under the act of 1822; 
largely instrumental in substituting in their place the system 
of free schools in 1838, he gave faithful service as a director 
of the schools he had done so much to found, for nearly one- 
half of his long life. Nor did his interest in education stop 
here. He was one of the first and fast friends of the office 
of County Superintendent of Schools, aiding, establishing and 
strengthening, when weak in infancy, the State Normal School 
at Millcrsville, and as a trustee during the whole period of its 
present organization, took a deep interest in all that concerned 
the prosperity of Franklin and Marshall College. In view of 
such eminent services, in the line of its own work, this board 
may well honor his memory. 

" Resolved, That in all respects Dr. Atlee was a model citi- 
zen ; ever ready to perform his duty to his country's call ; ever 
ready to lend a helping hand to his fellow-man in sickness or 
distress ; self-respecting, high-toned and honorable ; spotless 
in moral character ; without fear except of wrong doing ; true 
as steel to the cause he loved and the interest he served — this 
community may well mourn the loss of his example and fol- 
low him in sadness to the grave. 

" Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the press 
of the city and a copy be sent to the family of the deceased." 

How utterly inadequate would anything additional be to the 
memory of Dr. Atlee, after this tribute of the chairman. Dr. 
Wickersham. 

It was at the regular meeting following that the much- 
vexed question of " local jurisdiction " again came before the 
board in a majority and minority report. The Judiciary Com- 



A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURLSDICTION. 359 

mittee, consisting- of Messrs. Daniel G. Baker, Marriott 
Brosius and A. K. Si)nrricr, had been requested to render an 
opinion as to the right of the Lancaster School Board to adopt 
a series of text-books without first consulting the teachers. 

Mr. Baker and his colleague, both learned in the law, pre- 
sented their report as follows : " Your Judiciary Committee to 
whom was referred the question whether the twentv-fifth sec- 
tion of the act of the eighth of May, 1854, relating to the 
adoption of text-books, is applicable to Lancaster School Dis- 
trict and controls the action of its Board of Directors in the 
selection of text-books, respectfully report that your commit- 
tee is of the opinion that the twenty-fifth section of the act 
of 1854, is applicable to Lancaster City School District, and 
controls the action of its board of directors in the selection of 
text-books. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

" Daniel G. Baker, 
'■' Marriott Brosius." 

No sooner had the above report been read, than to the sur- 
prise of the two legal gentlemen, the minority member sub- 
mitted the following : 

" Gentlemen: I hereby respectfully submit the following as 
a minority report upon the application of the act of May 8, 
1854, see 25, P. L., page 623, to your school district : LTpon 
examination of the numerous acts in relation to the common 
schools, the minority opinion of your committee is, that the 
above mentioned act of 1854 does not relate to your school 
district for the following reasons : 

"The act of April, 1822, Section 4, P. L., page iii, after 
providing for the creation of a Board of School Directors for 
Lancaster City, reads thus : ' They shall have power to erect 
school houses, if necessary, to appoint teachers, to provide 
books, stationery and all things necessary for maintaining the 
schools under their control ; they may make such rules and 



360 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

regulations for their own government as may be deemed neces- 
sary for carrying this act into effect.' The said act of 1822 
is reenacted by an act of 1850, Sec. 5, P. L., page 17. The 
above mentioned act of 1854, or any subsequent act, does 
not repeal the act of 1822, as reenacted by the act of 1850, 
as it does not refer to Lancaster city school districts, nor ex- 
pressly alter or repeal said acts of 1822 and 1850, which will 
be apparent by reference to section 13, act of 1850, P. L., pages 
18 and 19, which read as follows: ' All acts and parts of acts, 
joint resolutions and parts of joint resolutions altered or sup- 
plied, or inconsistent with said act, are hereby repealed so far 
as the same relate to the city of Lancaster; and this act shall 
continue to be the common school law of said city until ex- 
pressly altered or repealed ; and shall neither be altered, ef- 
fected, modified nor repealed by implication nor by general 
words, in any general common school law that may hereafter 
be enacted, unless expressly named therein.' 

" Respectfully Yours, 

" A. K. Spurrier." 

Without further consideration, Mr. Cochran's motion to 
adopt the minority report prevailed over that presented by 
the majority of the committee. The adoption of the minority 
report by the Lancaster School Board, on this occasion, how- 
ever, while it served its purpose for the time being, failed to 
settle the legal status of the law respecting Lancaster city's 
jurisdiction as an independent school district. Thirty years 
have rolled round since these respective reports were sub- 
mitted ; and a full half century since the altercation between 
Thomas H. Burrowes and Alexander H. Hood, in which the 
latter withdrew from the board. 

The conclusion to be reached by the reader, before the final 
ending of my story is, that while the Lancaster City School 
Board was created by special act of Assembly, giving it an 
increased membership of thirty-six directors, with its " non- 



A QUESTION OF LOCAL JURISDICTION. 361 

partisan " feature, it bears in many respects the same relation 
to all the various acts passed since 1850. Were it otherwise, 
the State Appropriation would not be available. It is to be 
hoped, after all the facts bearing on this " knotty " c[ues- 
tion have been recorded, future boards may be able to deter- 
mine the status of the Lancaster City School District to their 
own satisfaction, independent of all partisan and traditionary 
considerations. 

Before the close of 1885, the board filled two vacancies, 
caused by the death of Mr. Zecher and Mr. Samson ; Messrs. 
M'Killips and Bolenius being elected to the respective vacan- 
cies, the latter remaining in continuous service as chairman 
of the Text-book Committee for nearly a score of years. 

Before adjournment, William Welchans and Theodore V. 
Appel, recent graduates of the boys' high school, were elected 
to vacant scholarships in Franklin and Marshall College. 



31 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

ADJUSTMENT OF TEACHERS' SALARIES. 

Thomas F. M'Elligott Succeeds J. M. Johnston as the Eleventh 
Secretary — Adjustment of Teachers' Salaries — Remarks Eulogistic to 
the Memory of Luther Richards — Report in Favor of Free Text 
Books — Invitation Extended to attend Commencement of Franklin 
and Marshall College, and Partake of the Alumni Dinner — Commence- 
ment Committee Report Against Extravagance and Ostentatious Dis- 
play on Graduation T)ay — Reminiscences of Arbor Day. 

At the organization of the board on the evening of Novem- 
ber 5, 1885, mentioned at the close of the previous chapter, 
the only change in the officers was the election of Mr. Thomas 
F. McElligott, who thus became the Eleventh Secretary. 

Thomas F. McElligott entered the board January i, 1874, 
in his twenty-fifth year, having been elected to the vacancy 
created by the death of George F. Breneman. Not desiring 
a reelection at the end of this term, he reentered the board in 
1884; and still continues with a record of twenty-three years. 
From the clearness and accuracy of his recordings, it is to 
be seen that he has been a most efficient secretary. 

Mr. McElligott was the second graduate of the boys" high 
school to become a member of the board. Philip D. Baker 
became the first. In 1850, with his parents, he moved to this 
city where he has since resided. After leaving the high school, 
he took a course of instruction in Eastman's Business College 
at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and later became Alderman of the 
First Ward. For some years he has been reporter on the 
" Intelligencer." His long experience as a newspaper man has 
added largely to his ability as secretary, holding the office for 
a number of years. 

At the meeting of March 4, 1886, Mr. Daniel G. Baker of 

362 




THOMAS F. McELLIGOTT. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 363 

tlie Judiciary Committee, reported the following : " Your 
Judiciary Committee to whom was referred the question as to 
how the law requiring twenty days to he taught in every month 
can be complied with, respectfully report : That by the man- 
date of the Act of June 25, 1885, it appears to be hnperative 
that a common school month shall hereafter consist of twenty 
days' actual teaching. The rule of our board has fixed ten 
holidays, five days from Christmas to New Year, and four 
days during institute week as usually granted, making in all 
nineteen non-school days, and which by said act do not com- 
pose part of 200 days required for ten months. So that for 
the current term there will have been taught 196 actual days. 

" This non-compliance with the law may be remedied in 
two ways — either by prolonging the school term from 43 weeks 
to 44 weeks, or by striking out three of the school holidays 
which are not legal holidays, namely, Easter Monday, Ascen- 
sion Thursday and Whit-Monday. No school shall be kept 
open on any legal holiday, or during the time of holding the 
annual county institute." 

It was about this time and after it was expressly understood 
that the teachers were required to attend the annual institute, 
that the following Act of Assembly received the signature of 
the Governor : " That all boards of school directors shall be 
and are hereby authorized and required to pay the teachers 
employed in the public schools of the several districts within 
their jurisdiction, for attendance upon the sessions of the an- 
nual county institute in their respective counties. Compensa- 
tion for institute attendance shall be based on the official re- 
ports made to the several boards of directors or controllers, 
by the proper county, city or borough superintendent, who 
shall report the daily attendance of teachers to the respective 
boards by wdiich they are employed, and such compensation 
shall be allowed by the directors or controllers, and paid by 
the district treasurer to teachers entitled to receive the same. 



364 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Compensation as herein authorized shall not be less than the 
per diem pay for actual teaching : Provided, That it shall not, 
in any case, exceed two dollars per diem, and shall be allowed 
and paid teachers, in their respective districts, for each day's 
attendance, reported as aforesaid, by the proper superintend- 
ent. And further provided. That a common school month 
shall consist of twenty days' actual teaching as now required 
by law." 

Notwithstanding the fact that the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction has ruled that neither boards nor teachers have 
a legal right to make contracts which are not in accordance 
with the provisions of this act, the Lancaster City School 
Board has not only withheld this per diem compensation from 
their teachers, for more than a decade of years, but have at 
the same time required them to attend these annual institutes. 
The fact that the School Board passed a resolution that the 
teachers' annual compensation was to include a week's attend- 
ance upon the institute, may have been a right or a wrong way 
of circumventing the foregoing Act of Assembly; but the act 
is strictly observed by every other district in the county as 
well as throughout the commonwealth. 

Mr, Cochran followed with a resolution, which was adopted : 

"Resolved, That the Superintending Committee be directed 
to inquire into the method of teaching sewing and needle-work 
in vogue in Philadelphia and elsewhere in the State, and report 
to the board their judgment as to the practicability of its adop- 
tion or the adoption of some other method in the public schools 
of this city, together with such other matters pertinent thereto 
as they may deem proper." 

Mr. Hartman reported " that the Property Committee had 
purchased the lot at the corner of Walnut and Mary as di- 
rected by the board." 

At the May meeting consent was given any of the pupils 
in any of the public schools of this city, " to assist under the 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 36'^ 

direction of their teachers in procuring flowers for the purpose 
of decorating the graves of soldiers on the approaching Deco- 
ration Day." 

On June 17, a special meeting was held with nearly every 
member present. The object of the meeting as stated by the 
president was the consideration of the report of the Superin- 
tending Committee " as to the equalizing of salaries of teach- 
ers of the same grade, to hear their report of the number of 
vacancies to be filled and the election of teachers for the en- 
suing year." 

Mr. McComsey, chairman, presented the following resolu- 
tions : 

"First. That the salaries of all the female teachers of the 
grammar schools— five in number— as well as the male teach- 
ers of the same grade— three in number— are now uniform at 
$440 and $660 respectively, and we recommend no change in 

this grade. 

"Second. Of the fourteen secondary teachers ten now re- 
ceive $395, while four only receive $385- The position of 
second assistant in this grade having been abolished, the duties 
of all the teachers are now the same. We therefore recom- 
mend that the salaries of this grade be made uniform at $395. 

" Third. Of the fourteen teachers of the intermediate 
schools eight are now receiving $385 and six are receiving 

$350. 

" While your committee were reluctant to recommend any 
reduction in the salaries of experienced and efficient teachers 
in these important schools, we see no reason why equally 
faithful and meritorious teachers of the same grade should 
receive less than others for the same service. The reorgani- 
zation of our schools having relieved those who were formerly 
principals in a large part of their labor and responsibility as 
such— in consideration of which the present salaries are fixed 
—the required duties of all the teachers of this grade are now 



366 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the same. Regarding- these schools, however, as one of the 
most important transition periods in the school-Hfe of the 
child and recognizing the importance of the teachers' work 
and influence, as well as the view to secure permanence in 
position, we recommend that the salaries of this grade be made 
uniform at $375. 

''Fourth. ( )f the twenty-three primary teachers, six now 
receive $313.50, and seventeen receive $302.50. These salaries 
were fixed for first and second assistants in the combined pri- 
mary schools. The position of first assistant having been 
abolished by the reorganization of these schools, and most of 
primaries now being single room schools, the required duties 
of all the teachers are now nearly similar. Regarding the posi- 
tion of somewhat greater importance and responsibility, we 
recommend that the salaries of all the single room primary 
teachers be $313.50, and for these where there is still a prin- 
cipal teacher, $302.50. This recommendation if approved will 
necessitate the transfer of several teachers at the beginning of 
the next term. 

''Fifth. In recognition of experience, we also recommend 
that hereafter when vacancies occur in the primary schools, 
such teachers as shall have been longest in the service shall be 
transferred to the single-room schools, and the newly appointed 
teachers placed in schools where there is still a principal 
teacher. 

"Sixth. In our combined English and German schools a 
distinct system — where some special salaries are paid, no 
changes in the organization, nor in the duties of the teachers 
have been made, hence we recommend no change in the sal- 
aries, except that the salary of Miss Ella Musser shall be the 
same as that of the other intermediate teachers. 

"If the above recommendations be approved, it will equalize 
the salaries of the teachers of the same grade at an increased 
annual expense to the board of $165. And having considered 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 367 

both sides of the whole subject and endeavored to act with due 
regard for the interests of the taxpayers as well as to avoid 
as far as possible injustice to experienced and faithful teach- 
ers, we earnestly commend them to the favorable considera- 
tion of the board. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

"J. P. WiCKERSHAM, 

" William McComsey, 
" John B. Warfel, 
," J. Hay Brown, 
" George Nauman." 

It would seem from the foregoing report on the equalization 
of salaries, which was unanimously adopted, and in which the 
annual increased expense was only $165, that the great ma- 
jority of teachers were compelled to accept " complimentary " 
mention for their " faithful " work and " influence," with a 
view to secure " permanence in the position." Further com- 
ment would seem to be unnecessary, except to say that, while 
thousands of dollars had gone into school buildings during 
this decade, the teachers' salaries remained, year after year, 
" about the same." 

It is all very well to refer, as many of the reports have 
done, to the efficient, conscientious teachers and the long ser- 
vice rendered, and expect them to rest content in the thought 
that no reduction had been made in their meagre monthly sal- 
aries. Indeed, from the time the first schedule of salaries was 
made in 1838 until this year 1886, directors had manfully stood 
up in support of many measures involving greater or lesser 
expencHtures ; but when called on to face the salary question, 
they became suddenly stricken with a conscientious regard for 
their already over-taxed constituents. However, it is to be 
hoped that, during the incoming decade, there may be no room 
for comment in this direction. 

At the November meeting of 1886, the members filed into 



368 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

common council chamber embned with fraternal good feeling, 
which, from all outward appearances, seemed to mark the 
beginning of a new departure in school board legislation. The 
old officers, after being reelected for another year, by accla- 
mation, followed the usual custom of extending thanks for the 
honor conferred. This was truly a happy meeting, and after 
the appointment of the various committees had been an- 
nounced, the board adjourned, with the firm conviction that 
its " non-partisan " status, as contemplated by the laws of the 
Commonwealth, had been firmly established. 

At this same meeting, Mr. ]\IcComsey submitted the follow- 
ing, which was unanimously adopted : 

" It seems eminently proper that some action should be taken 
relative to the death of one who has taught in the employ of 
this board for a period of more than forty years. Elected in 
1838 by the first board organized under the common school 
law, with the exception of a few years during which she was 
absent, Miss Maria E. Gill faithfully served this board and 
community almost to the day of her death. 

" In view of her long service, the purity of her character, as 
well as her eminent qualification for the position she filled and 
in view of the refining" influence of her teaching upon the char- 
acter of the many young ladies who have passed under her 
instruction, be it 

" Resolved, That a committee of five members be appointed 
by the chair to represent this body at her funeral, and that 
the girls' high school and teachers be given a half-holiday to 
afiford them an opportunity to attend the funeral." 

Four days later, November 8, a special meeting was called, 
in which the warm-hearted William McComsey again arose in 
his place and said in announcing the death of a former mem- 
ber and colleage : " Although not unexpected, it was with sin- 
cere sorrow I learned of the death of Luther Richards, who 
for twenty years was one of the most active members of the 




MISS MARIA E. GILL. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 369 

board. I will not attempt to eulogize the character of such a 
man : it is unnecessary ; Mr. Richards while living made for 
himself a w^arm place in the hearts and affections of this entire 
community and secured enduring esteem. As a tribute of re- 
spect to the memory of a true friend, a kind neighbor, I move 
that when we adjourn, it is to attend the funeral of Mr. Ricli- 
ards in a body and that these proceedings be recorded in the 
minutes." 

Did you know Luther Richards, my friendly reader? No! 
Then you have missed knowing a most lovable companion and 
an earnest, conscientious man. 

If the writer has been compelled to overlook a vast amount 
of the school board's proceedings, it is for the reason that he 
must be governed largely by the size of the volume in con- 
templation. If difficulties have beset his pathway, they may 
be found, not in scarcity of material, but rather in overabund- 
ance. To gather what is most valuable out of the record 
books of over one thousand meetings, since the year 1838, is 
a task for which there can be no adequate compensation other 
than the earnest hope that the work may result in arousing a 
deeper interest in our local school system. If anything has 
already appeared or is yet to appear that should have been 
allowed to rest in oblivion, it has come about through the 
author's desire to be a faithful chronicler of the actions of 
the men and women who have so well acted their part in the 
drama of school life. 

So gradually do reforms come, and so slow is public opin- 
ion ready to accept new conditions, that it was not until the 
year 1887, that a resolution in favor of free text-books found 
favor in the Lancaster School Board. It was at the above 
named meeting that Dr. McCormick introduced the resolution, 
which received unanimous approval : 

" Resolved, That the committee on text-books and course 
of instruction be directed to inquire into the advisability of 



370 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

the board furnishing ah the books and stationary required by 
the pupils of the pubhc schools and report at the next stated 
meeting." 

At the April meeting, Mr. Byrne, chairman of the Book 
Committee, made the following report : 

" Gentlemen: A resolution of the board at the last meeting 
instructed the committee on text-books to report at this meet- 
ing on the advisability of supplying to the children in our 
schools free of cost the books which are now furnished by 
their parents or guardians. Your committee find that the plan 
of furnishing free text-books, although a new one in this com- 
munity, is not an experiment. It has been in operation in 
the city of New York for fifty years and in Newark, N. J., 
for forty years. The system has grown old in many of the 
cities and towns in New England. It is still rapidly extend- 
ing throughout the Eastern States and is now very familiar 
in the States of the west. In our State, the city of Philadel- 
phia has been furnishing free text-books for many years and 
the city of Chester has been following the example for ten 
years. 

" Since the passage of the act by the Pennsylvania Legisla- 
ture, approved June, 1885, authorizing school boards to pur- 
chase text-books for the free use in public schools, a large 
majority of the districts in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and 
Delaware counties have availed themselves of its authority, 
and are now furnishing books and stationery, free of cost, to 
children of their schools. Other counties of the State have 
adopted the system, but not so largely as the counties named." 

Accompanying this report, and signed by the chairman, J. 
W. Byrne, Robert M. Bolenius and M. W. Raub, was a sched- 
ule of books then in use. 

As the adoption of the report required the amendment of 
the rules, the resolution for the adoption of free text-books 
was not passed until the July meeting following, and then 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 371 

only by the narrow margin of a single vote. Like all other 
innovations, carrying with thcni a considerable outlay of 
money, there was more or less agitation, pro and con, in the 
daily newspapers. 

At the meeting of Ji^ine, an invitation ivoni the faculty of 
Franklin and Marshall College was extended to the board, 
requesting the members to be present at the Annual Com- 
mencement, also to be their guests at the annual alumni din- 
ner on Wednesday, June 15. A suitable resolution w^as pro- 
posed and unanimously passed. It was no doubt the mention 
of the " alumni " dinner, which brought forth such a unani- 
mous acceptance. And why. indeed, should it not? for where 
can a body of men be found more deserving of an occasional 
" set-out " than the members of the Lancaster School Board, 
whose only return for their time and labor, in many instances, 
is unthinking censure. 

It is well that ye olden-time customs should not be entirely 
forgotten, when such men as Adam Reigart, John W. Forney, 
John R. Montgomery and other genial spirits of the Lancaster 
School Board gathered around the banquet table to enjoy their 
old Aladeira, and a good story. There is danger that a too 
strenuous life for either director or teacher may tend to estab- 
lish a line of demarcation, separating one from the other. 

And might it not be well occasionally for the board to invite 
the teachers to a banquet and there become personally ac- 
quainted? The good resulting from such a reunion along the 
lines indicated can hardly be over-estimated. It w^ould be 
something more than a formal gathering" ; it would, if we mis- 
take not, solve many of the little misunderstandings betw'een 
teachers and directors that have at times existed. If, as the 
chairman of the Superintending Committee expressed it so 
many years ago, " it is necessary that a good understanding 
exist among the teachers and directors," how or through what 
other means could this most desirable end be attained than in 
the manner suggested? 



372 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

The Lancaster Traction Company, actuated by a desire to 
keep in closer touch with its employees, has already set the 
example. Can the Lancaster School Board afford to be less 
well-disposed ? The money consideration involved bears no 
comparison to the ultimate good to be derived from a social 
gathering of this character. This is simply a suggestion, how- 
ever, and in no way intended to anticipate the future, when 
the women of Lancaster shall exert a greater influence in the 
actual operation of the school system than they do at the pres- 
ent time. Let these thoughts then, Utopian, chimerical or im- 
aginary as they may seem, not be thrust aside as the vaporings 
of the optimist. If the signs of the times are indicative of 
coming events, they are at present to be seen and felt in the 
activity displayed by the Young Women's Christian Associa- 
tion, by the Clio, the Iris Club, and the Kindergarten Asso- 
ciation — each, in its respective sphere, engaged in the solution 
of the great problem of education. These silent influences, 
exerted in so many directions in our midst, are not to be treated 
with seeming indifference. The school pendulum, moving 
with clock-like precision for nearly three generations under 
man's directing influence, may not forever continue to vibrate 
in its old, methodical way; for already woman's voice, the 
handmaid of intellect, the servant of the heart, is all-powerful 
in church, school and home. 

Before the adjournment of the board at the June meeting 
of 1887, Mr. McElligott offered the following resolution, which 
was adopted, namely : " That the Superintending Committee 
be and is hereby instructed to examine the late act of the Leg- 
islature, authorizing certain cities to organize separate teach- 
ers' institutes and report on the advisability of establishing 
such an institute for our city, and the plan of conducting the 
same." 

Thus was the first move made, resulting eventually in the 
withdrawal of the city teachers from the Annual County 
Teachers' Association. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 373 

At the September meeting Chairman Griest, of the previous 
" Commencement Committee," reported as follows on a mat- 
ter that had developed into a growing evil : 

'"'' First. The giving of floral and other gifts to graduates on 
graduation day, in the hall engaged for graduation purposes, 
is hereby prohibited ; and the receiving of gifts from any such 
graduate in that place and at that time is expressly forbidden. 
Therefore no one shall be engaged to deliver or care for gifts 
of that character. Nor shall there be any floral decorations 
of the hall except such as may be authorized and paid by the 
Commencement Committee of this board. 

'' Second. That every graduate shall prepare a graduating 
thesis, and its title and the graduate's name shall appear on 
the programme for commencement day ; but hereafter the 
number of orations, essays and recitations by graduates, on 
the occasion of their graduation, shall be limited to sixteen. 
The sixteen class representatives shall be selected by reason 
of merit, and shall be appointed ec|ually between the two high 
schools. The eight representatives of the boys' high school 
shall be determined by a vote of the teachers of that school, 
together with the City Superintendent ; and the eight repre- 
sentatives of the girls' high school shall be determined by a 
vote of the teachers of that school in connection with the super- 
intendent. 

" In the opinion of your committee the first of these reso- 
lutions will, if enforced, reduce to a minimum the ostentations 
display and public parade which, with their attendant evils, 
have assumed demoralizing proportions here and elsewhere. 
But besides the enforcement of a regulation such as this, the 
committee believes it voices the sentiments of the board and 
the community when it urges upon future graduates themselves 
and upon their teachers, parents and friends the propriety and 
the advantage of co-operation in an effort to suppress extrava- 
gance of dress as well as the public parade of presents. Moves 
32 



374 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

of like character of other cities in the state have met with 
hearty responses on the part of parents who, in instances which 
have reached the pubHc prints, made the presentation of gifts 
in the privacy of the home circle. In the judgment of your 
committee that is the proper place for such presentation. 

" Comment, criticism and comparison — often of an unkind 
and cutting character — are thus obviated ; and a practice which 
has been known in our very midst to lead parents to deny 
themselves and family the necessaries of life in order that they 
publicly present their child with its more costly luxuries, is 
deservedly done away with. 

" As to the second resolution, the committee is convinced 
that an abbreviation of our commencement exercises has be- 
come a necessity. Besides compressing these exercises into a 
convenient space of time, the enforcement of this resolution 
will, in the opinion of the committee, operate throughout the 
school year as an incentive to study, and will raise the standard 
of, and increase the interest in, our annual comniencement 

exercises. 

" Signed, 

" W. W. Griest, 

" W. O. Marshall, 

" Thomas B. Cochran, 

" M. W. Raub, 

" D. R. McCormick, 

" Coiiiiiiiffcc:" 

Some years previous, it was Resolved, That " the Superin- 
tending Committee be authorized to purchase prizes to be 
awarded to the two female graduates who shall appear in the 
most appropriate and economical attire at the coming com- 
mencement ; the cost of said prize to be paid for out of the 
funds of the board." This resolution was passed with the 
amendment that " the Superintending Committee be directed 
to present in appropriate terms to the female graduating class 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 375 

the importance of observing modest limitations in the extrava- 
gance of their toilets at the coming commencements." 

The author can close this chapter in no more appropriate 
way than by quoting from the superintendent's report for the 
month of October, 1887, as follows : 

" The official Arbor Day circular issued by the School De- 
partment is herewith submitted to the board, and your city 
superintendent desires to say that trees, shrubs and vines could 
be planted to advantage on Arbor Day, especially on the 
grounds at James, New and Manor streets. He would, there- 
fore, recommend that the board purchase the trees, shrubs and 
vines required, and leave the planting of them to the pupils 
under the direction of their teachers, on Arbor Day, on the 
principle that what they do for themselves will afiford them 
greater satisfaction and exert a better educational influence 
than what is done for them." 

In compliance with the above suggestion, the Property Com- 
mittee was directed to purchase the necessary trees and vines. 
This, however, was not the first observance of Arbor Day by 
the pupils and teachers of the Lancaster schools ; it took prac- 
tical shape some years before, in 1884. "nder the inspiration of 
Dr. McCaskey. Thus it will be seen that the last grand ob- 
servance at the boys' high school on October 21, 1904, has 
been the fortieth consecutive one — there being two in each 
year, that of April and October. 

It is impossible to estimate the number of trees that have 
been planted during these forty periodical Arbor Day obser- 
vances. Also it is pleasing to note that since Arbor Day has 
become a fixed custom in almost all the schools of the State, 
the thought of the cultivation and protection of our forests 
has received a wonderful impetus. Thousands have written 
upon the subject of tree-planting; scientific men have studied 
the effect of rainfall and other climatic changes, and forestry 
has been made a distinct study. " Woodman, spare that tree," 



376 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

has engendered in the hearts of our people renewed love for 
the trees ; and even our boys and girls have been taught to care 
for and protect them, and to see that none are ruthlessly de- 
stroyed. What a volume might be written upon this subject 
alone, were the writer free to indulge himself in his favorite line 
of thought. As a diversion on this topic, it may be allowable 
to make reference to an address delivered in 1890 by the Rev. 
Charles L. Fry, former rector of Trinity Lutheran church, 
before the boys' high school, his subject being " The Wissa- 
hickon of Lancaster." 

" Think of the natural facilities we have for a park, which 
we have heretofore left unimproved ! Who of us have ever 
stood on the brow of the hill in Woodward Cemetery, and sur- 
veyed the graceful serpentine course of the stream as it winds 
its silvery way through field and woodland, without being 
enchanted by the lovely prospect? What city has an easier 
task in the construction of a park, on account of so much 
already done before a shovelful of sand is added or taken 
away, than Lanacster would have? And what city could be 
prouder of its park when finished than ours ? Sometimes I 
find myself imagining a spacious, well-shaped, eight-mile boule- 
vard along the water's edge, on both sides of the stream, from 
the foot of South Queen street to the New Holland pike, occa- 
sionally rising to a promontory commanding a superb pano- 
rama; then sinking back to the level with its many curves and 
angles. Why should this be merely visionary? Why should 
we not set to work to actualize it at once? The new electric 
street cars will furnish abundant transportation. The Cone- 
stoga is fortunately not harnessed by unsightly forges and fur- 
naces, factories and foundries, as are most bodies of water 
within the vicinity of cities ; so there is little to interfere with 
the construction of a pleasure-ground. Such a park would be 
enjoyed alike by young and old. Just as I believe that archi- 
tecture is a civilizer, so too I am convinced that the influence 



TEACHERS' SALARIES. 377 

of a city park would be for tlie good of the community in all 
its human interests, tending to expand our scope and generosity 
of mind and heart." 

Fourteen years have gone by since Mr. Fry gave expression 
to this sentiment. If his imaginings of a "spacious, well- 
shaped eight-mile boulevard along the water's edge " have not 
been fully realized, a visit to his former field of labor, a trip 
on the Lady Gay, or a ride on the double-track trolley to Rocky 
Springs, would serve to remind him that his words, so beauti- 
fully expressed, have not been allowed to fall upon unwilling 
ears. All honor, then, to the men of the " Road Drivers' 
Association " and others who have contributed so largely in 
making the Conestoga the eastern and southern boundaries of 
a Greater Lancaster. 

But Conestoga Park, with all its natural advantages, is not 
forever to remain without a rival : already there looms up in 
the northwest another park, young in years, it is true, but des- 
tined within the next decade to afiford a resting-place for the 
sons and daughters of the good people of Lancaster. Soon 
its shaded lakes and driveways will make it a thing of beauty 
and a joy forever. All honor, then, to the late ^liss Catharine 
Long and her aged father, for what will ever be associated 
with their memory. Farther off, in a southerly direction, sur- 
rounding the old homestead of General Hand of Revolutionary 
fame, lies yet another park, which, in time, will recall all the 
more vividly to mind the donator, H. S. Williamson, who with 
the above-named, has become a public benefactor. 



CHAPTER XXA^ 

TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 

J. P. Wickersham Declared the Sixteenth President — Resolutions 
of Regret on the Death of George F. Sprenger — Dr. D. R. M'Cormick 
elected the Seventeenth President — Thomas F. M'Elligott hecame the 
Thirteenth Secretary — Memorial Tribute to the Memory of J. M. 
Johnston — Later, Another Meeting in Memory of Charles F. Eber- 
man — Resolutions of Respect on the Retiinng Members, J. I. Hartman 
and Dr. John Levergood — Mr. Wickersham's Tribute to the Memory 
of Dr. E. E. Higbee. 

It will be recalled that at the previous organization of the 
board at the November meeting of 1886, the members were 
amicably disposed toward a division of the official positions, 
without resorting to a test of party strength. At this Novem- 
ber meeting of 1887, however, there was to be sunshiny 
weather for the Republicans and a stormy November blast for 
the Democrats. Messrs. AlcComsey and Wickersham were 
placed in nomination for president ; the roll being called, Mr. 
Wickersham received 18 votes and Mr. McComsey 17, one of 
the members refusing to vote for his party's candidate. Mr. 
Wickersham was thereupon declared the Sixtcoitli President 
of the Lancaster School Board. 

For Secretary, Charles F. Eberman and Thomas McElligott 
were placed in nomination, each receiving 18 votes (the silent 
member now joining in the voting to prolong a hopeless con- 
test). After three additional ballots, resulting in a tie vote, 
Messrs. Cochran and Barnard asked leave to retire, which was 
granted. 

A motion followed that the offices of secretary and treasurer 
be referred to a committee of conference for adjustment ; this 
was defeated. The board proceeded to the election of treas- 
urer. Messrs, Marshall and Sprenger were placed in nomina- 

378 




HON. J. P. WICKERSHAM. 



TRIBUTE TO DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 379 

tion, resulting- in a tie vote of 17 for each candidate. After 
several additional ballots, on motion, the board proceeded to 
ballot for messenger. Messrs. Loucks and Shoenberger were 
named, the result again being a tie. A second motion was 
made for a committee of conference — three from each party to 
be appointed to settle the matter, which was carried. The 
President appointed Messrs. Hartman, Brown, Warfel, Pontz, 
Ochs and Lichty, who retired and after a brief absence re- 
ported that they could not agree ; and asked for power to settle 
the matter by lot. Recalling, no doubt, the result of a previ- 
ous drawing, the Democratic members were not disposed to 
repeat the experiment; when on motion the board adjourned 
to meet on Thursday, November 10. 

At this adjourned meeting thirty-three members were pres- 
ent, 16 of whom voted for Mr. McElligott and 17 for Mr. 
Eberman, who was declared the T-wclfth Secretary. In this 
election Mr. Eberman was elected for the second time to suc- 
ceed himself as secretary. A ballot for treasurer resulted in 
the election of Mr. Marshall by the same vote. Mr. Loucks 
was then elected messenger by acclamation. 

The foregoing proceedings quoted from the minutes and 
appearing at the time in the public prints are herein set forth 
to show to what extent the political factor dominated the Lan- 
caster School Board down to a recent time when wiser counsel 
began to prevail. 

Mr. Wickersham, the new President, was born on the iifth 
of March, 1825, in Newlin township, Chester county. Raised 
on his father's farm, he became a pupil in the Unionville Acad- 
emy before entering his teens. At the age of sixteen, he taught 
a district school. In 1845, lie was elected principal of the 
Marietta Academy; in 1854, he gave up that position to become 
the first County Superintendent of schools of this county ; and 
in 1856 was elected the first principal of the Millersville Nor- 
mal School. In 1866 he accepted the position of Superintend- 



380 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

ent of Public Instruction from Governor Curtin, retiring from 
said office in 1881 to be succeeded by Dr. Higbee. It is not 
necessary to continue the story of Dr. Wickersham's life; it 
stands out like that of Dr. Burrowes — too well known to need 
extended notice. His name must ever be associated with the 
greatest educators of America. 

There were four men of Lancaster, Burrowes, Wickersham, 
Higbee, Crumbaugh, three of whom were members of the 
school board — the third and fourth teachers in our schools. 
Around what other school board in the Commonwealth linger 
fonder memories than those awakened by their names? 

Mr. Wickersham being the pioneer superintendent of the 
county, many a little episode might be related from his experi- 
ences during his first visits to the various districts in the win- 
ter of 1854. " When the passage of the law creating the ofiice 
of County Superintendent of Schools became generally known, 
at least, in one particular district of the county," remarked an 
elderly gentleman, who had known the Doctor most intimately, 
" the populace was stirred into a ferment resembling that occa- 
sioned at Boston by the passage of the ' Stamp Act.' They 
had been compelled to accept the ' Zwing Schulen ' (forced 
schools), forced on the people by the tyranny of unjust legis- 
lation against their will ; and now, to be compelled to tolerate 
the interference of this ' one-man power,' was but the final and 
fatal stab at their cherished liberty. They spoke of American 
liberty as a thing of the past, and the boasted privilege of the 
ballot a mockery. It therefore became the almost unanimous 
opinion, honestly and conscientiously entertained, that it was 
their solemn duty to resist the execution of this iniquitous law 
as well as the visit of the newly-elected official by all the means 
within their power. 

" Warned by an anonymous letter that to enter the village 
was to do £0 at his peril, ]\Ir. Wickersham approached the little 
log structure, not without considerable apprehension as to the 



TRIBUTE TO DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 381 

result of his visit. Little of interest occurred during his 
twenty-mile drive, except a word of caution from a friendly 
wayfarer, that to enter the village was to do so at the risk of 
his life, as the people were up in arms awaiting his arrival. 

" It was a cold, wintry day, as the story runs, when INIr. 
Wickersham, nuiffled up in his furs and rohes, entered the 
little hamlet in his sleigh, hy a road, running at right angles 
to the one leading to his destination. Around the school 
house was already assembled a motley crowd of anti-school 
men awaiting his arrival ; on every face sat excitement and 
anger, as they gathered themselves into little groups for earnest 
discussion. Within the open doorway stood the irrepressible 
schoolmaster, swaying his pedagogical scepter with all the dig- 
nitv of his august calling. Rack of him were huddled together 
the affrighted children. 

" Hitching his faithful ' Nelly ' to the limb of a distant tree, 
the expected yet unrecognized arrival approached an elderly 
gentleman, by whom he was promptly informed, in broken 
English, that they were momentarily awaiting the arrival of 
the new ' superintendender,' and if not too much in a hurry to 
continue his journey, they would show a stranger how Jimmy 
M'Glune, the Irish schoolmaster, could hustle the ' commander 
and chief ' of the county out of the ' deestrict ' quicker than 
he had entered. Of course, not being averse to witnessing a 
little innocent amusement, the new arrival joined the crowd 
and entered the school room, incog. With a shake of the hand 
the pugilistic Irishman led him over to the old wood stove, 
where the crowd expressed their displeasure, if nothing worse, 
at the iniquitous law and the newly elected official. 

" ' At last,' said ]\Ir. Wickersham, without as much as a 
smile, ' my turn came, and mounting one of the slab benches, 
I soon had the unruly element interested in the products of 
the farm. Step by step, and for a time, without disclosing my 
identity, I entered upon the school question, with a good word 



382 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

in favor of the expectant Moses who was to deUver them out 
of the bondage of ignorance and superstition.' 

" To make a long story short," concluded my informant, re- 
calHng the event as related by the late Dr. Wickersham, so 
many years ago, " before the meeting adjourned, he had won 
a majority of the anti-school men over to the school side of the 
question." 

"And how about Jimmy M'Glune?" I asked. 

"Jimmy M'Glune, bless you! Why, would you believe it? 
Jimmy became one of the superintendent's staunchest support- 
ers, and after he became Principal of the Millersville Normal 
School, he never failed to pay the school a yearly visit, footing 
it the entire distance of more than twenty miles." 

But to get back to my narrative. Special meetings of the 
Lancaster School Board have seldom been called without some 
important purpose in view. It may be for the election of a 
teacher to fill an unexpected vacancy, the erection of a school 
house, or for anyone of a half-dozen other purposes. The 
extra meeting of April 19, however, was called to give expres- 
sion to the sudden departure of one of the board's most re- 
spected members, a patriot and soldier. The committee ap- 
pointed to draft suitable resolutions reported as follows : 

" This board has heard with regret of the death of their 
colleague, George F. Sprenger. Although a member but a 
few years he endeared himself to us by his honest endeavors 
in behalf of the common schools of the city of Lancaster. He 
was conscientious and fearless in the discharge of his duties, 
and in his death the board has lost one of its most respected 
members. 

" Resolved, That as a mark of respect to his memory this 
body will attend his funeral." 

At the organization of the board in November, 1888, was 
to be precipitated another, and the last of the many political 
battles for the school board's officers. Dr. Wickersham and 




DR. D. R. Mccormick. 



TRIBUTE TO DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 383 

Dr. McCormick were respectively placed in nomination, each 
receiving eighteen votes. Ten additional ballots followed with 
the same result. Then came a week's adjournment. On re- 
assembling another ballot was taken. No change. A recess 
followed, the Republicans silently withdrawing to select coun- 
cil chamber, where, no doubt, through the salubrity of the 
atmosphere came a change of heart. On their return, another 
ballot was taken, resulting in thirty-two votes for Dr. D. R. 
McCormick, who was declared elected, and became the Seven- 
teenth President of the board. By acclamation, Thomas F. 
McElligott was elected the Thirteenth Secretary — a position 
he, too, had formerly held. William O. Marshall and J. H. 
Loucks were reelected to their former positions by a unani- 
mous vote. 

It seems almost incredible that for a score of years a con- 
dition as above described was at all possible in a school board 
of representative men, known for their learning and business 
standing. In the councilmanic bodies such a state of affairs 
might have been tolerated, but for a dignified body of school 
directors, acting under a bi-partisan act of Assembly, to 
wrangle }'early over the offices of President, Secretary, Treas- 
urer, as well as that of messenger, has surely not been credit- 
able to a school board imbued with the highest interests for the 
public welfare. It reflects equally upon the constituency, 
ready at all times to subordinate the cause of education to polit- 
ical expediency. But this, as we have said, was to be the last 
political battle wherein the interests of this or that candidate 
were to divide the board into two irreconcilable forces. 

If, during the incoming decade or more of years, an occa- 
sional change was made in the offices of secretary and treas- 
urer, they no longer involved the entire board in acrimonious 
and prolonged contests as on previous occasions ; the respective 
officers being decided on in each party's caucus. Looking at 
these episodes as among the " by-gones " of other days, it is 



384 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

only charitable to infer, that both parties became tired of the 
whole business of playing politics. 

Dr. McCormick, president-elect, was born in this city ; grad- 
uated from the boys' high school in 1872; from Jefferson Col- 
lege in 1882, becoming a life member of the Alumni Associa- 
tion of said college. He became a practicing physician in this 
city almost from the time of his graduation, also a member of 
the Board of Health, a position he has filled down to the pres- 
ent day. 

The announcement of the following committee by the newly- 
elected president may have given assurance that he was in no 
way disposed to exercise his authority from a partisan stand- 
point, namely : 

Superintending Committee — William McComsey, John B. 
Warfel, Dr. John Levergood, James P. Wickersham and James 
McDevitt. 

Building and Grounds — J. I. Hartman, John McKillips, 
Thomas B. Cochran, Samuel F. Erisman, Henry Wolf. 

Finance Committee — Robert A. Evans, Samuel K. Lichty, 
G. Edward Hegener. 

Judiciary Committee—]. Hay Brown, Marriott Brosius, 
Thomas B. Cochran. 

Committee on Text-Books and Course of Instrnetion — Dr. 
R. M. Bolenius, George N. Reynolds, W. W. Griest, S. T. 
Owen, C. F. Eberman. 

Committee on Furniture and Apparatus — Jacob Pontz, Jacob 
F. Kautz, William Wohlsen. 

Night Schools— John Ochs, William S. Shirk, H. A. 
Schroyer, Charles Lippold, William D. Stauffer. 

Soldiers' Orphans and Home for Friendless Children- 
George Darmstatter, H. R. Brcneman, R. K. Schnader. 

Hygiene— Br. M. W. Raub, William D. Stauffer, Charles 
J. White. 

At a special meeting held January 14, 1889, nearly every 



TRIBUTE TO DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 385 

member was present. None but an entire stranger could have 
mistaken the purpose of the call; for every man, woman and 
child was more or less acquainted with the man in whose 
memory the board had met. The committee reported as 
follows : 

"Resolved, That during ]\Ir. J. M. Johnston's fifteen years' 
service in the Lancaster City School Uoard, he was an active, 
conscientious and intelligent worker in the cause of education, 
using his best endeavors in behalf of the public schools of the 
city. In his death Lancaster has lost a good citizen, and the 
public schools a zealous supporter and advocate. 

" Resohed, That as a mark of esteem, this board will attend 
his funeral in a body." 

On February 21. another special meeting was called, at 
which the president announced the object to be " the propriet}- 
of sending a committee to represent the board at a convention 
to be held at Harrisburg on the twenty-fifth, for the purpose of 
formulating a bill to be presented to the Legislature, regulating 
and governing common schools in cities of the third class in 
this commonwealth." It was therefore resolved that the Ju- 
diciary Connnittee represent the board at said meeting, and 
that President McCormick be added to the number. Mr. 
Griest ofifered the following preamble and resolution, wdiich 
was adopted : 

" Whereas, Bills are now pending in the Legislature, which, 
if enacted, may necessitate a change in our text-books ; there- 
fore, be it resolved. That this board protests against any legis- 
lation which will necessitate a change in our text-books." 

At the April meeting the attention of the board was again 
called to a bill in the Legislature which if passed would take 
from the board about $1,500 per year. "Under the present 
law the board gets the difiference between 5 per cent., and the 
amount paid for collecting the tax. Under the proposed law 
the City Treasurer will collect the school tax." As the commit- 
33 



386 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

tee failed to report to the board what legislative action if any 
was taken, the presumption is, the bill failed to become a law. 
A special meeting was held April lo, 1889, when President 
McCormick announced the object, to take action on the death 
of Charles F. Eberman, for eight years a member of this 
board. The committee reported the following: 

" Whereas, It has pleased an All-wise Providence to re- 
move from our midst Charles F. Eberman, for many years 
a member and ofificer of this board, who was ever active in pro- 
moting the interests of our schools and the cause of education, 
who was ever faithful and cfiicient in the performance of every 
duty assigned him, either as a member or officer, and who was 
ever loyal to his family, his friends, his church and of his 
country ; therefore, 

'' Rcsoh'cd, That as a tribute of respect to his memory, this 
board will attend his funeral in a body. 

'' Resolved, That the proceedings be entered upon the min- 
utes and a copy of the same be transmitted to the bereaved 
family, together with the sympathy and condolence of this 
board." 

At the May meeting Dr. Levergood presented the petition 
of twenty-five graduates of this year's graduating class pray- 
ing the board to allow each graduate to speak at commence- 
ment exercises and moved that the prayer of the petitioners 
be granted. The motion was adopted by a vote of 16 to 14, 
notwithstanding a resolution had been passed only the year 
before limiting the number as expressed in the resolution. At 
the June meeting, however, this resolution was reconsidered, 
allowing all the graduates to speak on Commencement Day. 
Before adjournment, Harry J. Evans and Harry J. Myers were 
elected to fill two vacant scholarships in Franklin and ]\Iar- 
shall College. As Mr. Myers declined to enter college, A. M. 
Shock was elected in his place. Of the many recommendations 
to scholarship made by the board during the past half-century, 



TRIBUTE TO DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 387 

only a few have been noted in these pages, for the reason that 
no record has been kept of the number entering Franklin and 
Marshall under the provision of this act. 

At the meeting of July 2 the following report of the special 
Committee on Diplomas was presented to the board and 
adopted : 

" Gentlemen: The undersigned committee appointed to in- 
quire into the advisability of issuing two-year certificates to 
pupils of the high schools who are not able (from no fault of 
theirs) to complete the full term of four years and thus secure 
diplomas ; and who were further instructed to ascertain whether 
it would be judicious to issue certificates to pupils of the gram- 
mar schools, respectfully report : 

" That after giving the subject thoughtful consideration, we 
believe it would be advisable and just to issue two-year certifi- 
cates to those pupils of the high schools whose studious habits 
and meritorious conduct and deportment entitle them to favor- 
able recognition on the part of the board. As vour committee 
understand it, these certificates are proposed to be simply cre- 
dentials of character and not of scholarship ; and your commit- 
tee readily conceive the vast importance of such a testimonial. 
It would be valuable to a boy or girl about to enter upon the 
practical duties of life, with nothing but his or her good charac- 
ter with which to achieve success. Your committee therefore 
ofi:"er the following resolution : 

"Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to frame 
a rule on this subject, and also to submit a suitable form of 
certificate. Your committee are inclined to make some rec- 
ommendation granting certificates to pupils of the grammar 
schools who are entitled to enter the high schools, but are un- 
able to do so from circumstances over which they have no con- 
trol. Pupils about to leave these schools are too young and 
immature to have a proper appreciation of the value implied 
in such certificates, and consequently their possession would 



388 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

avail nothing. Your committee, therefore, offers the follow- 
ing resolution : 

" Resolved, That it would be inexpedient to issue certifi- 
cates to pupils passing through the grammar schools. 
" Respectfully submitted, 

"John Levergood, 
" W. D. Stauffer, 
" G. N. Reynolds." 

The report was adopted and the same committee continued 
to submit a suitable form of certificate. The writer having 
carefully examined the minutes running through several years, 
has been unable to find any record of such certificates having 
been prepared or issued to any of the two-year pupils of the 
high schools. In theory, the scheme seemed of importance, 
but in practice it no doubt failed to subserve its purpose. 

At the September meeting following, Jacob Rathfon was 
elected to the vacancy created by the death of Charles F. Eber- 
man and Dr. Oliver Roland to the place made vacant by the 
death of Robert A. Evans, a position Dr. Roland has continued 
to fill for more than fifteen years with marked ability, serving 
as he has on many of the more important committees. 

It was at the October meeting of 1889 that the withdrawal 
of two of the board's most active members prompted the ven- 
erable Mr. AlcComsey to offer the following resolution: 

"Resolved, That by the retirement of John I. Hartman and 
Dr. John Levergood, who have been for so many years among 
its most active and zealous members, this board loses two of 
its most esteemed colleagues, and this community their untir- 
ine services in the cause of education." 

The motion was adopted without a dissenting vote. Here 
were two members whose names have appeared in the school 
board's minutes so frequently as to make them familiar to the 
readers of the daily papers for a score or more years. With 




DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 



TRIBUTE TO DR. E. E. HIGBEE. 389 

the resignation of Mr. Hartman, however, his service was not 
to end, as shall appear in the following chapter. 

The meeting of November 7, in which an amicable organi- 
zation was efifected, may well be considered the most impor- 
tant held for many years ; for it was at this meeting that an 
U!iderstanding was reached that the Republicans were to take 
the Treasurer and Messenger, and the Democrats the Presi- 
dent and Secretary. On this basis the Lancaster School Board 
has been organized continuously for a period of fifteen years. 
It might be a happy ending of this volume, were the author 
prepared to say, at its conclusion, that our much-vaunted, non- 
partisan or bi-partisan school board exists other than in name 
only. Enough has been shown, however, to raise the ques- 
tion whether, indeed, the Lancaster City School Board directly 
represents the people. The author fully realizes the difficulty 
of the subject. It is to be hoped that the future historian may 
have no occasion to designate this or that officer as either 
Democrat or Republican. Unfortunately, on nearly every 
page of the records of the Lancaster School Board, during a 
score or more years, these terms have appeared only too fre- 
quently. And yet, with all the many battles waged, often- 
times to the verge of open hostility, there are those who verilv 
believe that the Lancaster School Board's proceedings are 
monthly conducted on an unpartisan basis. 

At the meeting of November 14, a beautiful memorial trib- 
ute was presented by James P. Wickersham, in honor of one 
who for a few short years had borne the responsible duties 
resting upon his shoulders. How fitting and entirely proper 
the following : 

" Dr. E. E. Higbee was at one time a teacher in our public 
schools. Prior to his death he for several years resided in 
our town, taking an active part in its social, educational and 
literary circles and in the discharge of the duties of the office 
of Superintendent of Public Instruction in which on several 



390 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

occasions he signally favored this community; therefore it 
seems fitting that this board should join in an expression of 
sorrow on account of his death, and place on record a proper 
tribute to his memory. 

" This board honored Dr. Higbee as a scholar whose learn- 
ing was general and profound. He was equally well versed 
in the departments of language, mathematics, philosophy, lit- 
erature, art and theology. His mind was not only capable of 
ranging over great surface, but of penetrating deep beneath 
the surface. 

" We honored him also as an instructor of youth. Nearly 
forty years ago he taught in our high school, and his thorough 
knowledge of the subject of instruction, his happy methods of 
teaching and his genial manners in the school room are still 
remembered among us. 

" As Superintendent of Public Instruction for the past eight 
years, this board has appreciated his ability and faithfulness 
with which he discharged the duties of his high trust, and in 
common with the school authorities the whole commonwealth 
is glad to bear tribute to his well-meant and self-exhausting 
labors in behalf of the cause of popular education. 

" We knew and honored Dr. Higbee as a man, a neighbor 
and as a citizen. He was a gentleman, a patriot, a Christian. 
His life was pure and his character spotless. He has left 
here and everywhere throughout the State hosts of friends ; 
among those who knew him well he could have no enemies. 
As a mark of respect we offer this tribute to his memory, and 
resolve to attend his funeral in a body ; and we also respect- 
fully present the following resolution : 

"Resolved, That all the schools of the city under the con- 
trol of this board be closed on Monday from ii A. M. to 2 P. 
M., to afford teachers and pupils an opportunity of attending 
his funeral." 

The resolution was unanimously adopted and the board 
adjourned. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

INDICATIONS OF A GREATER LANCASTER. 

Annual Statement of the Finance Committee at the January Meet- 
ing of 1890 — Indications Pointing toward a Greater Lancaster — Resolu- 
tions of respect to the Memory of G. Edward Hegener — David M'Mul- 
len Unanimously Elected the Eighteenth President — Memorial Tribute 
to the Memory of Hon. J. P. Wickersham — Death of William M'Coni- 
sey — " The Father of the Board." 

Little of importance occurred at the meeting of January, 
1890, apart from the superintendent's report, as usual full of 
valuable suggestions in which he gave the number of pupils in 
attendance in the various schools as follows : In the high school, 
279 ; in the grammar, 398 ; in the secondary, 697 ; in the un- 
graded, 45; in the intermediate, 936; in the primary, 1,333; i" 
the night schools, 156, making a total of 4,044. Deditcting 
the number enrolled, 2,839, i" 1880, shows an increase of 1,205 
during the previous decade. 

It need not be assumed because little or no reference has 
been made in previous chapters to schoolhouse building, that 
this important work was to cease ; the increase in the number 
of children monthly applying for admission to the different 
schools, is sufficient to relieve the mind of the reader on this 
point. 

At the April meeting the Finance Committee presented the 
following : 

" Your Finance Committee, as required by law, presents the 
annual estimate of the probable receipts and expenditures of 
the schools for the coming year : 

Estimated Receipts. 

$13,200,000 val. at 3^2 mills $-1-7,100 

State appropriation 13,000 

391 



392 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Tuition 200 

Probable amount from County Commissioners 1,800 

Balance in treasury 1,650 

Total amount of receipts $63,750 

Estimated Expenditures. 

Tuition including night schools and janitors $40,000 

Coal and kindling 2,600 

Books and stationer}^ 3,000 

Salaries 225 

Gas bills 200 

Water rent 250 

Repairs 2,000 

Abatement for prompt payment 1,500 

Errors and exonerations 1,000 

Commission on collection 1,000 

Interest on loans 4,000 

Principal on loans 6,000 

Contingencies i,975 

Total estimated expenses $63,750 

" The above estimate," continues the report, " is based on 
a 3^ mill tax. Yotir committee would recommend to the 
board the fixing of the tax-rate for the coming year at thirty- 
five cents on the hundred-dollar valuation, beheving it will be 
sufficient to pay all the ordinary expenses required during the 
year. 

" Respectfully submitted, 

" Thomas B. Cochran, 
" Samuel K. Lichty, 
" Richard M. Reilly." 

Ten years previous, according to the Finance Committee's 
report, the assessed valuation for school purposes was $11,- 
000,000, producing at a three-mill rate, $33,000; State Appro- 
priation, $5,500; tuition, $150; fines, $100; due from County 
Commissioners, $1,400; amount in treasury, $4,000, or a total 
of $44,150. Deducting the then estimated receipts of 1880 
from those of 1890, there appears to be an increase of $19,550; 



GREATER LANCASTER. 393 

to this must be added the cash balance of $2,350 in the hands 
of the treasurer, making the whole increase of receipts during 
this last decade of $21,900. One of the first encouraging 
signs was the largely increased State appropriation, reaching 
from $5,580 in 1880 to $13,000 in 1890. 

The teachers' salaries, always an uncertain quantity, had 
gone from $28,100 in 1880 to $40,000 in 1890, an increase in 
this item alone of $11,900. The increase in the number of 
pupils attending school at the beginning of 1890 was 1,205 
over that of the beginning of the decade previous. This in- 
crease of school children was not to be confined to the schools 
alone ; the population of the city had very materially increased 
likewise. In the year 1880 it was something over 25,000; in 
the year 1890 it had exceeded 32,000, a gain of seven thou- 
sand. This gradual increase of population was a constant re- 
minder of coming events. The school buildings had to come. 

Apart from the above statistics, carefully compiled from the 
minutes, there were other indications pointing unmistakably 
toward the Greater Lancaster to be. New streets were being 
opened, and others extended ; the street cars and the electric 
lights had come to carry and light the people on their way. 
An influx from the county, and other districts more remote, 
began to locate in our midst, foretelling a future for old Lan- 
caster, hitherto unlooked for. In addition, councils began to 
" get a move on " ; a new water plant began to take shape, 
with a view of giving manufacturers a more plentiful water- 
supply. The " mud streets "' — in which more than one lone 
pedestrian on horse-back was reported to have gone down 
never more to return — these also began to show signs of im- 
provement. With the number of new market-houses, all in- 
tended to increase the value of real estate in the outlying dis- 
tricts, came also thrift and enterprise among the builders in 
supplying new homes for the hundreds anxious to cast their 
lot among us, ready and wdlling to drink our muddy water 
without a murmur. 



394 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Those who, years before, quietly sat themselves down under 
the delusion that the time would never come when " Center 
Square " would cease to be the hub, around which was forever 
to revolve the entire business of the city, at last began to rea- 
lize that on nearly every corner of the outskirts was to be found 
a store catering to the wants of its numerous customers. With 
these and other improvements, came also the new reservoir, 
sad reminder of bad management, a lesson to be profited by 
in the years to come. 

Many other things might be mentioned to show the growth 
of Lancaster in wealth and industry. It was a question which 
appealed with much force to the school authorities ; for well 
they knew as the town grew and developed, the school popula- 
tion was destined to increase in the same proportion. This 
was the condition in which the board found itself at the begin- 
ning of 1890, after having already erected a number of sub- 
stantial school buildings. Of course, a few of the older, more 
conservative members shook their heads as they glanced over 
the Finance Committee's report, showing over two hundred 
thousand dollars of the school board's liabilities ; but the 
younger members, direct from the people, were ever ready to 
forward the good work begun in 1875. 

It was in the year 1890 that a special committee was called 
to consider the following proposition : 

" Resolved, That the Committee on Building and Grounds 
be instructed to have plans and specifications prepared for two 
twelve-room buildings to be erected — one on South Duke 
street, the other on South Mulberry, and report an estimate of 
their cost to the board at the next meeting." 

This resolution was passed with the amendment " that 
Messrs. McComsey, Wickersham, Warfel, Reynolds and 
Greist, of the Superintending Committee, and Messrs. Bolenius 
and McMullen, be empowered to act with the Property Com- 




SOUTH DUKE STREET SCHOOL BUILDING, Erected in 



1892. 



GREATER LANCASTER. 395 

mittee." Under this enlarged committee the building's were 
completed at the beginning of 1902, at a cost of $50,000 for the 
South Duke street, and $44,000 for the Mulberry street build- 
ing. To provide for the payment of these handsome struc- 
tures, another bond issue was authorized. 

A second special meeting held in 1890 was convened Janu- 
ary 21, when President McCormick announced that " it had 
been called to take action on the death of G. Edward Hegener, 
a member of the board." The committee appointed to draft 
resolutions reported the following, which were unanimously 
adopted : 

" Whereas, While we bow in submission to the Divine will 
of Him who doeth all things wisely and well, we, nevertheless, 
on account of his intelligence, activity and usefulness as a 
member of this board, and as a citizen, deeply regret his seem- 
ing untimely death ; therefore, 

"' Rcsok'cd, That as a mark of appreciation of our loss and 
as a last tribute of respect to his memory, this board will 
attend his funeral in a body." 

At the February meeting Marriott Brosius, having entered 
upon his duties as Congressman, tendered his resignation as 
a member of the board. This was followed by the resignation 
of J\Ir. James AIcDevitt. These vacancies were tilled by 
Messrs. Brosey, Judith and Winower. 

At the organization of the board on the evening of Novem- 
ber sixth, the only change in the officers was in the president. 
David McAIullen being the only candidate, he was elected by 
acclamation as the Eighteenth presiding officer, in place of Dr. 
McCormick, who declined a reelection. 

Mr. Richard Reilly, owing to a contemplated trip abroad, 
handed in his resignation, to the vacancy of which Mr. Charles 
E. Downey was elected. 

Before adjournment, Mr. ]McComsey offered the following, 
which was unanimously adopted : 
34 



396 THE LANCASTER EREE SCHOOLS. 

"Resolved, That the thanks of this board be tendered Dr. 
D. R. McCormick, the retiring president of the board, for the 
able, impartial and efficient manner in which he discharged the 
duties of the office during the two terms he presided over the 
board. And while we accept his determination not to accept 
another election, we take the opportunity to welcome him back 
to the floor, knowing that he will continue to be, as he always 
has been, one of the most useful and active members." 

Hon. David McMullcn, ex- judge of the Court of Lancaster 
county, former councilman and now President of the Lancaster 
School Board, was elected a member in 1889, and at once en- 
tered upon his duties with a full realization of what they re- 
quired. Mr. McMullen was born near Mt. Hope, in this 
county, October 20, 1844. As a boy he attended the public 
schools of Penn township, the Yeates Institute of this city, 
and the Vermont Episcopal school, at Burlington, Vermont. 
He graduated from the Millersville Normal School in 1868. 
For a short time he taught a district school, and later taught 
in Oil City, reading law during his spare moments under the 
supervision of Hugh C. Graham. In 1870 he entered the law 
office of the late Samuel H. Reynolds, Esq., and in the year 
following was admitted to the Lancaster Bar. 

]\Iuch more might be written of David AIcjMullen, ex-judge, 
attorney and school director ; but no further word is necessary 
except to record that he has been elected President of the Lan- 
caster school boards annually for a period of over fourteen 
years — the longest term of service ever attained by any one of 
his distinguished predecessors. 

Passing over much of importance in the way of routine busi- 
ness, it now becomes the author's sad duty to record the pro- 
ceedings of another special meeting held on the evening of 
March 26, 1891. After glowing tributes were indulged in by 
President McMullen, Messrs. Griest, Schroyer and Johnson 
were appointed a committee to report a memorial tribute, as 
follows : 




HON. DAVID McMULLEN. 



GREATER LANCASTER. 397 

" We mourn the death of a co-laborer in the cause of free 
echication. As a member of the Lancaster City School Board 
for seven years. Dr. J. P. Wickersham was earnest, progres- 
sive and well informed. His knowledge and experience were 
invaluable and we deeply feel the great loss which the cause 
of education in this city has sustained l)y his death. 

" Nor is it we alone who mourn the death of Dr. Wicker- 
sham. Throughout the Commonwealth sorrow is felt at the 
fall of the pillar of the free school system. Since the day 
when the founders built better than they knew, no man has 
lived in Pennsylvania who became more closely identified with 
the growth, progress and present efficiency of the schools of 
the people than he. For fifty years he was connected with edu- 
cational work as county school teacher, founder of an academy, 
first superintendent of Lancaster county, principal of the Mil- 
lersville Normal School, State Superintendent and as a mem- 
ber of this board. 

" In all these capacities he acquitted himself with fidelity 
and conspicuous success. The monument to his memory that 
will longest endure is reared by his own hands in the work 
which he wrought and the greatest good which he did in behalf 
of intelligent citizenship. Dr. Wickersham's memory will 
never die while the free school system exists on Pennsylvania 
soil. 

" We, who also knew and honored him as a man, a neighbor 
and a citizen, offer this memorial tribute ; and we hereby re- 
solve as a further manifestation of our respect for his career 
and character, to attend his funeral in a body." 

At the meeting of November 5, 1891, the returns of the 
February election were read, showing the directors elected for 
a term of three years. LTnder a recent act of the Legislature, 
each being duly affirmed, repeated : "I do depose and say that 
I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the 
Constitution of Pennsylvania and the laws thereof; that Lhave 



398 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

used no unlawful means to procure my election as school direc- 
tor and that I will discharge the duties of the ofifice, for the 
district in which I have been elected, faithfully and impartially, 
and to the best of my understanding and ability." To this 
affidavit each of the newly-elected members signed his name 
in the presence of the President and Secretary, who no doubt 
felt it to be their duty to stand sponsor for their future good 
behavior. 

At the April meeting following Dr. Wickcrsham's decease, 
]\Ir. J. I. Hartman was elected to the vacancy, much against 
his protest, and was at once assigned as a member of the Super- 
intending Committee. 

We are now compelled for want of space to pass over a 
score of pages of Secretary McElligott's carefully written min- 
utes. Glancing over two full pages, encased in deep black 
lines, the eye falls upon the words which carry their own mean- 
ing — " The Father of the Board — William jMcComsey." 

After calling of the roll on this sixth of July, 1895, Presi- 
dent McMullen stated the object of the meeting, to take appro- 
priate action on the death of William McComsey. In his re- 
marks, he paid a glowing tribute to this faithful public servant 
in behalf of public education in this city. Mr. Hartman fol- 
lowed with similar remarks, recounting his long years of ser- 
vice, and moved the appointment of a committee to draft a 
suitable tribute of respect, as follows : 

" The members of the Lancaster School Board have heard 
with deep regret of the death of their fellow member, William 
McComsey, ' The Father of the Board ' ; and their desire is 
to put on record an expression of their high appreciation of 
him as a member of this body and as a citizen. 

" For two-score years he was an active worker in advancing 
the common school cause. From the day he entered the board 
in 1866 until his final illness he was at all times ready to advo- 
cate any measure that would benefit the schools of this city, 



GREATER LANCASTER. 399 

which he loved so well. He believed in cverv facility being 
afforded teachers and pnpils to do good work. He favored 
improved school buildings, and he had the pleasure of seeing 
the old-fashioned one-story school houses replaced by the finest 
school buildings in the State of Pennsylvania. The history 
of the schools during his membership in the Lancaster City 
School Board show'S one continued record of progress. He 
filled the responsible position of chairman of the Superintend- 
ing Committee for many years wdth great ability, and he per- 
formed every duty assigned him by the board with a fidelity 
that is well worth copying. 

" He served his fellow-citizens as City Treasurer, Auditor 
and Jury Commissioner with fidelity. He was honored by his 
fellow-citizens because he had established a character that mer- 
ited their confidence and respect. 

" We lament the death of the ' Father of the Board,' our 
oldest member and leader. In his death the public school sys- 
tem loses an earnest worker, the Lancaster City School Board 
a spirited, honest man. 

"Resolved, That as a mark of respect to his memory, this 
minute be published in the daily papers, entered on the records 
of the board, a copy sent to his family, and that we will attend 
his funeral in a body." 

What more can be said. What more need be said of this 
warm-hearted public benefactor? That he was ever disposed 
to seek the right side of every question effecting the schools 
is best exemplified when he changed his vote in favor of free 
books. Personally, he may have been opposed to the board 
purchasing books and supplies. Public sentiment, however, 
led him to see his error, and seeing it, he changed his vote, 
ensuring the passage of the measure by one majority. 

The last banquet that Mr. McComsey attended was on the 
evening of November 7, 1889. It was especially an evening 



400 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS 

of " reminiscences," indulged in by the older members of the 
board — Messrs. Hartman, Levergood, Slaymaker, Wicker- 
sham, Warfel and last, though not least, the venerable McCom- 
sey himself, who, in recalling the forty-three members who had 
died during his directorship, little imagined that within a few 
short years he, too, with three others of the above-named, 
would be no more. 

It was on the fourth of November, 1897, that the Lancaster 
City School Board met for organization in common council 
chamber. Following a rule established nearly a decade before, 
Mr. McMullen was unanimously reelected the board's presid- 
ing officer, W. O. Marshall Treasurer, and J. H. Loucks, Mes- 
senger. Mr. AIcElligott, who had held the office of secretary 
for several years previous, was succeeded by Mr. George 
Forrest, who became the Fourteenth Secretary, holding said 
office, as the minutes will show, down to the present. 

Mr. Forrest, upon whose minutes the author must now rely 
for whatever of importance is yet to be related, was born in 
this city January 2, 1852. He attended the public schools, 
graduated from the high school and, after serving his appren- 
ticeship at the printer's trade he spent several years in various 
cities, returning to Lancaster at a later day. In 1892 he was 
elected to the Legislature, serving in the lower house during 
the following session. In 1890 Mr. Forrest entered the school 
board, and in 1897, as has been shown, was elected secretary. 

It was at this meeting that the board was compelled to con- 
sider another Act of Assembly, whose provisions were as little 
understood as they were difficult of enforcement. In many 
respects, this Legislative enactment differed little from that 
passed by the General Assembly more than two hundred years 
before. This act having been read by the secretary, it was 

" Resolved, That the Judiciary Committee be authorized and 
directed to take such action as, in their judgment may be neces- 
sary for the full compliance on the part of this board with the 




GEORGE FORREST. 



GREATER LANCASTER. 401 

provisions of the Act of Assembly known as the ' Compulsory 
Education Act,' and the supplements thereto ; and that the said 
committee be further directed to report their action to this 
board at the next regular meeting." 

At the May meeting of 1898. the attendance officer made his 
first report as follows : " Your attendance officer respectfully 
submits his first report. He entered upon the duties of the office 
on the second of April, and devoted every secular day of the 
month to the work assigned him. Naturally, considerable time 
was required to become acquainted with the work, to examine, 
correct and complete the assessor's lists, and to locate the pupils 
requiring attention. 

" The teachers reported 385 pupils out of school, and your 
attendance officer in consequence made about four hundred 
visits to families. Some of the reasons assigned for non- 
attendance at school are, non-vaccination, want of proper 
clothing, especially shoes, and work to be done at home by 
the child. In a few instances parents seemed willing to have 
their children attend school, but are unable to compel them to 
do so. In other cases, it may become a question whether pupils 
deficient in moral character should be admitted to the regular 
schools. 

" Respectfully, 

" L. L. Bruner, 
" Attendance Officer." 

The careful observer of the school board's proceedings dur- 
ing the past dozen or more years, could scarcely have failed to 
note, without some degree of humor, the contents of many of 
these reports. That the attendance officers were not all times 
received with open arms by the parents of those wdiom they 
sought, need not be wondered at, when the difficulties of en- 
forcing the act are considered. These trials, and tribulations, 
however, were not confined to the truant officer alone; the 
members of the Judiciary Committee were not by any means 



402 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

free from that vexation of spirit, which not unfrequently crowns 
the eflforts of the most indnstrions of the board's membership. 

It was at the meeting" of April 6, 1890, that two reports were 
read, one from the City Superintendent, the other from the 
attendance officer — both pointing unerringly to the want of 
more school room accommodation. The number of pupils re- 
ported by the former was, in the high school 388, in the gram- 
mar 592, in the secondary 1,064, in the intermediate 1,363, in 
the primary 1,776, in the night school 134 — a total of 5,317; 
and by the latter, 189, as having" been gathered in from the 
highways and byways of the city. 

It was at the meeting of January 5, 1899, after the Clay 
street building had been completed at a cost of $31,000, that 
Mr. H. A. Schroyer, acting, no doubt on the largely increased 
attendance of pupils as shown by the su])erintcndent's report, 
offered the following resolution : 

"Resolved, That the Committee on Buildings and Grounds 
be instructed to erect an eight-room house on North Mary 
street, and that the committee be instructed to advertise for 
bids for a building" on plans similar to the Straw^berry street 
building." The motion was amended " that the committee 
advertise for plans and report at the next meeting," and was 
passed by a vote of 16 yeas to 13 nays. 

Dr. McCormick, in discussing the necessity of additional 
school room accommodation stated : 

" It is of considerable importance that some steps be taken 
toward the securing of a high school building. On account of 
the necessity of having such a building, which is becoming more 
necessary every day, he would move that a special committee, 
consisting of the Property Committee, the Superintending Com- 
mittee, and the Hygiene Committee, and the President and 
Secretary, the President to be chairman of the committee — 
consider the matter and report from time to time such action 
as they may deem advisable." The motion was carried. 




o 
o 

I 
o 

CO 

H 
UJ 
UJ 

cr 

I- 

> 

DC 
QC 
UJ 

m 
< 

QC 

H 

CO 

oc 
o 

QC 
LLl 

I- 



GREATER LANCASTER. 403 

Trouble over the resohuion atithorizino- the erection of the 
Mary street building, came with the presentation of the 
iMnance Conmn-ttee's report at the nieetino- of May 4, in which 



Resolved, Ihat the tax-rate for the fiscal year, beginning 
June I. i899„ and ending with June i, 1900. be fixed at 4 mills 
on all property subject to taxation for school purposes." 
_ The presentation of this report provoked a spirited discus- 
sion ; bonds to the amount of $165,000 had alreadv been issued 
to pay for the erection of the following school buildings : 
High School, West Orano-e ^ 

High School Annex ^^7'°°° 

Lemon Street . 5.ooo 

West James .... ^"^'^^^^ 

North Prince .. '•^•5°° 

New ^°'°°° 

Manor ^-^-SSO 

Ann '^-50 

South Prince .....'.'.'.'.'.'.' '^•°™ 

West Walnut . ^-^'^^o 

South Duke . '^-750 

South ^Iulherr3- ^^^'°°° 

Rockland -^-^^ 

VYest Chestnut ^'^'^^ 

East Chestnut ^°-°°° 

Strawberry -^■°°^ 

First and'Pearl .'.''.''.'.'.'.'..'.'.['.'.[[[[ ■^'''°''° 

Mary Street lot, paid on account "^^'""^ 

Clay Street, if built ^'^°° 

„ , 31.503 

total cost of the 19 school hnildin"s «,.,.- 

"= *453.-2d0 

_ After Chairman M'Elligott stated that " The committee con- 
sidered a tour-mill tax sufficient to pav the current expenses 
for the fiscal year ending June i, 1900, though it would not 
pay the mdebtedness, nor would there be anything left for 
budding purposes." 

After a running discussion, partaken in by the president and 
others, the board took a fifteen-minute's recess, when the 



404 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Finance Committee, through its chairman, presented a sup- 
plementary report, recommending " that in addition to a four- 
mill tax, recommended l)y the committee, an additional one 
mill be levied and set aside for building purposes. In this 
shape, the Finance Committee's report was adopted by a vote 
of 24 to I. 

It may readily be seen that the board first ordered the con- 
struction of the North Mary street building, and later made 
provision for its payment. With the erection of school build- 
ings, estimated at $453,250 within twenty-five years, well 
might the older member wonder when schoolhouse building was 
to reach its climax ! 

If the Lancaster School Hoard had its financial troubles, there 
were others to be met of quite as much importance, coming, 
however, from a difi:'crent source. 

It was at the meeting of January, 1900, that the chairman 
of the Superintending Committee ofifered the following impor- 
tant resolution which was unanimously adopted, portraying as 
it does, a condition only too^ prevalent in many of the schools 
of the commonwealth at the present time. 

" Whereas, It has been frequently asserted by persons that 
their children in our public schools were overtaxed with les- 
sons of undue length and difficulty : 

" W^iiEREAS, Said assertions have been corroborated by 
statements of several of the teachers, who, however, allege 
themselves powerless to change these and other conditions 
which they believe to be inimical to the best interests of the 
schools — therefore, 

" Rcsolzcd, That the Superintending Committee be directed 
to inquire into the accuracy of the said assertions, and alleged 
conditions, and report to this board the result of their investi- 
gations, together with such recommendations as they may con- 
sider proper to submit." 

At the February meeting the chairman presented the fol- 
lowing : 



GREATER LANCASTER. 405 

" Gciiflcuicii: Your Superintending' Coniniittec would re- 
spectfully report that they have made a careful and exhaustive 
examination of the matter of too severe studv, and from the 
most conclusive evidence find the allegations fully sustained. 

" They find the teachers and pupils in the grammar, second- 
ary, intermediate and primary schools have been overtaxed ; 
that the children's lessons have been too long and severe, and 
at times, even unjust. The result has been that those of the 
children who were bright and strong, or had assistance at home, 
got along satisfactorily ; others struggled along in a most un- 
healthy mental condition, and some had to leave schools because 
they simply could not do the work required of them. 

" When thoroughly convinced of these objectionable condi- 
tions, your committee invited the grammar, secondary, inter- 
mediate and primary school teachers to hold grade meetings, 
and there carefully consider the situation, and report to us such 
changes as in their judgment would remedy the evils. These 
meetings were held, and from each grade we received written 
reports suggesting changes. After carefully considering those 
reports and the parents' statements made to us, we prepared 
the following recomniendations, and in the belief that their 
adoption will improve the existing conditions, we respectfully 
ask for their approval." 

Contained in the foregoing report, covering every branch 
of the school curriculum of the primary, secondary and gram- 
mar schools, are many valuable suggestions which, for want 
of space, must be omitted. In the plan so ably set forth, being 
the result of a conference of the Superintending Committee 
and teachers, there can be no doubt that it was the committee's 
desire to limit the course of study to work of practical utility. 
It raises the question, however, as to what extent children who 
are " bright and strong," or who have assistance at home, 
should be held back with those of " unhealthy mental con- 
dition." 
35 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 

Report of the Finance Committee — Superintendent's Report on En- 
rolment of Pupils — Estimated Valuation of School Property — H. A. 
Schroj^er Succeeds W. O. Marshall as Treasurer — Memorial Tribute 
to the Memory of Dr. Henry Yeagley — The Stevens High School — 
Laying of the Corner Stone — Addresses by President McMullen and 
N. C. Schaeffer, Superintendent of Public Listruction — Commencement 
Exercises at Rocky Springs. 

In closing" this voltime, the Finance Committee's report, pre- 
sented at the April meeting". 1900, is the sixth and last decennial 
statement herein to be inserted, and from it comparisons may 
be made with preceding statements of a similar character. 

" To the School Board : Gentlemen : Yoiu' Finance Com- 
mittee respectfully report the following as the receipts and ex- 
pendittires for the cnstting year commencing" Jtme i, 1900: 

Receipts. 

$16,506,778, at 5 mills $82,533 89 

State appropriation 30,000 00 

Tuition 200 00 

Balance in treasury 8,542 00 

Total receipts $121,275 89 

Expenditures. 

Tuition '. $68,000 00 

Coal and kindling 4-700 00 

Books and stationery 5-300 00 

Salaries of officers 1.375 00 

Gas bills 300 00 

Water rent 250 00 

Repairs 4,ooo 00 

Errors and exonerations 1,800 00 

Interest on loans 16,506 -jy 

Contingencies 19,044 12 

Total estimated expenditures $121,275 89 

406 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 407 

The following- summary of the Lancaster School Board's 
financial growth during the past sixty-five years is well worthy 
of a moment's consideration : In the year 1840 the total in- 
come from all sources for the running of the schools heginning 
with June first of said year was $5,123.89; in 1850, $12,015.69; 
in i860, $17,423; in 1870, $32,841.91; in 1880, $46,213.09; in 
1890, $63,750; in 1900, $121,275.89. Deducting the receipts 
for 1890 from those of 1900, shows a gain of $57,525.89. This 
large increase came principally from two sources — the largely- 
increased assessed valuation and the state appropriation, the 
former having grown from $13,000,000 in 1890 to over $16,- 
000.000 in 1900 — a gain of over $3,000,000 in this item alone; 
and the latter, the state appropriation, from $13,000, in 1890 
to $30,000, in 1900, a gain of $17,000 in the state's hounty. 
On the other hand, where $40,000 was appropriated for teach- 
ers' salaries in 1890, $68,000 was required in 1900. In addi- 
tion, interest on loans had gone from $4,000 in 1890, to $16,- 
506.77 in 1900. 

Another interesting study may he found in the City Super- 
intendent's reports, beginning with that of 1881, and ending 
with this year 1904, in which the enrollment of pupils is as 
follows: In 1881, 2,979; "^ 1882, 3,006; in 1883, 3,098; in 
1884, 3.185; in 1885, 3.283; in 1886, 3,362; in 1887, 3,452; in 
1888, 3,537; in 1889, 3,657; in 1890, 3,904; in 1891, 3,961; in 
1892, 3.965; in 1893, 4,064; in 1894, 4.404; in 1895, 4,531; in 
1896, 4,550; in 1897, 4,858; in 1898, 5,018; in 1899, 5,080; in 
1900, 5,184; in 1901, 5,125; in 1902, 5.547; "^ ^9^3, 5M71 i" 
1904, 6,082. 

Another striking coincidence will be found in the census: 
In 1840, the population of the city was something over 8,000; 
in 1850, about 12,000; in i860, 17,000; in 1870, 21,000; in 1880, 
25,000; in 1890, 32,000; in 1900, 43,000. These comparisons, 
if they prove anything, show unmistakably that the city's 
greatest growth has been during the past two decades. It is 



408 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



to be expected that the historian of two decades hence may be 
able to make a still better showing". 

Referring- to the Finance Committee's report, presented by 
its efficient chairman, Mr. John C. Carter, at the meeting of the 
board, July ii, 1904, we find the following statement of assets 
and liabilities down to the close of June of said year : 



Estimated Value of School 
Property. 

High School Orange $47,000 

High School Annex 5,ooo 

Lemon 49.650 

West James i3,Soo 

North Prince 10,000 

East New 14,100 

Manor 13,500 

North Ann 13,000 

South Prince 13.250 

West Walnut 14.750 

South Duke 50,000 

South Mulberry 45 000 

Rockland 10,700 

West Chestnut 40,000 

East Straw1)erry 30,000 

Pearl 30,000 

North Franklin 28,000 

East Clay 31,500 

North Mary 35,000 

$493,950 

135.000 

$358,950 



Bonds c 


ue June 




1904 


. $15,000 






" Oct. 




1905 


. 10,000 






" Nov. 




" 


. 20,000 






" Dec. 




" 


. 10,000 






" Mar. 




1907 


. 10,000 






" Apr. 




" 


. 10,000 






" May 




'• 


. 10,000 






" Oct. 




1909 


. 10,000 






" Nov. 




'■ 


. 20,000 






" Jan. 




1910 


. 10,000 






" Feb. 






10,000 


Boi 


ided 


indebted 


less.. . . 


.$135,000 



Total valuation of school property. 
Bonded indebtedness 

Excess over liabilities 



Marvelous indeed seem the changes time has wrought, Avhen 
we realize that less than a third of a century ago, the total 
valuation of school property in the city of Lancaster was little 
more than twenty-five thousand dollars ! 

Passing to the meeting of November i, 1900, we find the 
only change in the regular officers of the board was that of 
William O. Marshall, who retired from the post he had filled 
for nearly tw^enty years. On retiring from the treasurership, he 





^' ,yci^d^^^^^-'Z^ 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 409 

fell back into the ranks where he is still to be found as one of 
the oldest members of the board. 

At this November meetino- the board was called upon to fill 
the office of messenger made vacant by the death of ]\Ir. 
Loucks, and elected Mr. John Brock. Mr. Loucks was the 
second to die in the position of messenger during a period of 
more than half a century. Like his venerable predecessor, he 
held the position for many years, and was at all times attentive, 
obliging and ever willing to perform his duties to the best of 
his ability. 

As Mr. Marshall's successor, Mr. H. A. Schroyer became the 
Sixth Treasurer since the organization of the school system 
in this city. He is still at his post of duty, in his office on 
North Queen street. 

Elected to the board in 1878, Mr. Schroyer has remained a 
member down to the present time. As chairman of the Night 
School Committee for many years, he was always attentive, 
and accomplished much in this direction. Mr. Schroyer was 
born in Harrisburg, January 29, 1850, but spent most of his 
boyhood days in Lancaster. After attending St. James' parish 
school he became a student in the boys' high school. 

Turning to the minutes of May 5, 1902, we find the board 
again summoned into extra session to take action on the death 
of a member of the Hygiene Committee and a high-toned man. 
The committee appointed to draft resolutions reported the 
following : 

" Whereas, The Lancaster City School Board has heard 
with profound sorrow of the death of our late fellow member. 
Dr. Henry Yeagley, who was a member of the Board for a 
number of years, and performed his duties as a school director 
conscientiously and with ability. Always active in educational 
work, and having served on several committees, doing his full 
duty, he proved himself worthy the trust reposed in him by 
his constituents. The highest praise that can be pronounced 



410 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

upon any man is to testify to his fidelity to duty— and this we 
do for our departed friend and associate. 

"Resolved, That it is only a just tribute to the memory of 
the departed to say that, in regretting his removal from our 
midst, we mourn one who was in every way worthy of our 
regard and respect. 

"Resolved, That as a mark of our respect, we attend his 
funeral in a body." 

We are now to enter more fully into the last of the School 
Board's building operations — the Stevens High School. In 
this connection it will be recalled that at the meeting of Janu- 
ary, 1899, steps were taken towards the erection of a high 
school building. But there is no evidence that the committee 
ever met to consider the subject. Nearly two years later, at 
the meeting of December, 1901, Dr. Bolenius offered the fol- 
lowing resolution which was adopted : 

" Resolved, That a special committee, consisting of the 
Superintending Committee, the Text-book Committee and the 
Property Committee, with the President of the board as chair- 
man ex-officio, consider and report upon the advisability of 
building a new girls' high school, and report on a site or sites 
for such a school as early as possible." 

As comment has frequently been made about the necessity 
for what is soon to become the most elegantly constructed if 
not the most costly high school for girls in the state, it shall 
not be the purpose of the author to anticipate coming events, 
by passing judgment before the school is in operation. There 
are a few reflections, aside from the actual cost of the Stevens 
High School worthy of the reader's time and attention. If, 
in the end, the curriculum be raised to the highest standard, 
commensurate with the money involved in its construction, the 
actual cost will prove of secondary importance. 

The author has incidentlv learned the motives which 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 411 

prompted some of the members in giving" this latest project 
their unquahfied approval. " For the boys," as one expressed 
it, " positions of trust and responsibility await them in the 
business world if well grounded in the common branches of 
the school curriculum. On the other hand, the main purpose 
of the graduate from the girls' school is to become a teacher. 
So, the kind of an education adapted to the one is not alto- 
gether adapted to the other. Depending then, as we must, 
upon our own home supply of instructors, it should be the 
purpose of the board to erect a building the equal, in all its 
internal arrangements, of that of a normal school. For, as the 
standard of this school is raised, in the same degree will the 
efficiency of our teaching force be increased." 

It cannot be denied that possibly seven-eighths of our teach- 
ers in years gone by have been graduates of the girls' high 
school of this city. This is as it should be, if they are found to 
be the equal of those from a distance in experience in the art of 
teaching. The great difficulty heretofore has been that the 
greater number of our primary teachers have entered the call- 
ing without any special training whatever. That many of 
them eventually developed into teachers of ability cannot be 
gainsaid. This after-experience, however, was gained largely 
at the expense of those whom they were employed to instruct. 
Unfortunately, the beginner is always placed in the lowest 
grade of the elementary department, wherein, the consensus of 
opinion has ever been, only those of practical experience should 
be employed. 

Overlooking this fact as an evil condoned by public opinion, 
it cannot be denied that it is the incentive which the girls" high 
school yearly afifords in preparing those whose ambition it is 
to become teachers, that has kept alive the interest of many 
parents in this department of learning. It may be a one-sided, 
narrow-minded view of what an education actually means, but 
in this age of working and doing, conditions must be met with 



412 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

as they actually exist. It is true that not every girl gradu- 
ate has an ambition to enter upon the teacher's calling; and 
yet, for those who seek other pursuits in life, a high school 
diploma as a passport is not by any means to be despised, not 
even by the young man seeking a helpmate. So, give the girls 
every chance to avail themselves of such facilities as our schools 
afford from the i)rimary to the high school. 

Better far that school buildings with all modern conveniences 
be constructed, than that the money be applied to the erection 
of prisons in whose internal equipment and sanitation so much 
interest has been shown at times by those who frequently pay 
their school-tax under protest. Let the Stevens High School 
then be completed, and as the years roll on, and our present 
efficient corps of teachers shall have completed their life's 
duties, may the good work be continued by others, still better 
equipped for the labor their hands may find to do. 

If the author has any one thing to regret in the closing of 
this volume, it is that so little attention has been given to the 
part the teachers of this city have played since the frail educa- 
tional ship was first launched so many years ago. From 
the small number of sixteen teachers in 1838, the list has 
grown to one hundred and twenty in this closing year 1904. 
During the first year the system was in operation, the ratio 
of males to females was about one to four. At the present time, 
the male teachers are " simply not in it," their number being so 
small by way of comi)arison, as to make further comment 
unnecessary. 

During the early times, thirty years was a record to be 
pointed to with becoming pride. Since then, others have en- 
tered the teachers' calling, a few serving for more than forty 
years. Only recently one of our teachers. Miss Matilda Zug. 
passed away after a continuous service of forty-two years. 
Was she, from the weight of years, no longer fitted to perform 
the duties of an instructor of youth ? Not by any means ; for 




MISS MATILDA ZUG. 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 413 

up to a year ago, she was as active, and as full of the huoyancy 
of youth, as when a girl of seventeen she entered the profes- 
sion. There are others still in the employ of the hoard who 
have taught, some ten, others twenty, and still others for a 
greater length of time. They may be growing old in years, 
but young in spirits, with an experience gained through long 
years of unremitting toil. Have they been forgotten by their 
present or former pupils? If you think so, drop in upon them 
during the Christmas season, and at your leisure examine the 
many little souvenirs — this from a lad of years before, now a 
father ; that from a mother, wdio had not forgotten her own 
school-days, nor the teacher; others still from some poor little 
tot W'ho couldn't let " Merry Christmas " go by without re- 
membering his teacher with a gift, small in value, it is true, 
but carrying with it a feeling of devotion not to be measured 
by even a look or a smile. 

Looking backward over the years that have come and gone, 
what a splendid record the teachers of Lancaster have made 
for themselves ! Of the scores upon scores wdiose names ap- 
pear elsewhere, from the time Miss Christie Zinsser and Miss 
]\Iaria E. Gil! began their eventful career in the old Lancas- 
terian building more than sixty years ago, the good work has 
been going on. And of the scores who have gone forth from 
our schools as teachers none have brought discredit upon them- 
selves or their professional calling. If the old minute books, 
lying silent by my side, were gifted with the power of expres- 
sion, they would exclaim in one voice, " We are still here to 
bear testimony to the earnestness, faithfulness and devotion 
of womanhood in the great cause of popular education." 

And now for a parting tribute to the directors of our city, 
a list extending nearly seven decades ! It has never been her- 
alded through the press that there was no money in the school 
board's treasury to pay the teachers' salaries, small as they 
have been, nor for the building of school houses. No com- 



414 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

pelling of those seeking admission to return to their homes, 
there to await the board's convenience. In other cities "no 
money for schools " has only too frequently become the crown- 
ing shame of the authorities entrusted with the duty of obtain- 
ing the necessary funds. 

And where in all this broad commonwealth can another com- 
munity of equal size and intelligence be found that pays its 
school tax less grudgingly than do the taxpayers of Lancaster? 
All they ask, and what they have a right to demand is, that the 
hundred thousand dollars annually collected shall be economic- 
ally and judiciously expended. In the way of new school build- 
ings the board has done well, every section of our city having 
its share of handsome structures. Is there still room for fur- 
ther improvement within these? Or have our schools already 
reached their highest state of perfection ? To answer this in 
the affirmative would be to acknowledge that the common 
school system has fully served the purpose for which it was 
created. 

Since the tendency of the times seems to be in the direction 
of a closer relationship, both by teacher and pupil, with the 
body politic, in municipal, state and national affairs, every 
effort should be put forth in the schools to teach the elements 
of civil government. It requires a broad culture, a consum- 
mate skill and a sympathetic tact to put the child on the right 
track as he enters the political world. If the schools of Lan- 
caster within the next incoming decade shall accomplish little 
more than that of laying the foundation of good citizenship, 
they will have conferred a blessing on society of incalculable 
value. 

And now, to the conclusion of my story : It was not un- 
til the meeting of August 6, 1903, that the secretary of the 
Building Committee, Dr. Bolenius, recommended to the board 
" that the committee having in charge the erection of the 
Stevens High School, be authorized to make arrangements for 



36 




THADDEUS STEVENS. 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 415 

a suitable programme of exercises for the laying of the corner- 
stone," which was promptly concurred in by the board. 

JNlay 27, 1904, was an ideal day and was observed as a holi- 
day among the schools. The members of the board met at 
2 P. M. in the Prince and Chestnut street building and pro- 
ceeded to the corner of Charlotte and Chestnut in a body. 
The teachers of the high schools, with their pupils and the 
teachers and pupils of the other schools, assembled at the high 
school and proceeded direct to the location of the new school. 
The exercises were opened in accordance with the following 

programme : 

Board of Directors. 
George N. AIlaI)ach, J. C. Brock, Dr. R. M. Bolenius, John Bucher, 
John C. Carter, Henry Carpenter, F. M. Dorwart, C. E. Downey, B. F. 
Davis, F. S. Everts, George Forrest, W. W. Griest, R. T. Farver, John 
J. Jeffres, D. E. Long, C. H. Locher, W. O. Alarshall, W. H. M'Comsey, 
Dr. D. R. M'Cormick, Thomas F. ArElhgott, Rev. Emil Meister, David 
M'MuIIen, Charles Nickel, W. D. E. Poisal, Jacob Pontz, E. D. Reilly, 
Dr. Oliver Roland, F. A. Rnpp, A. H. Schroyer, P. E. Slaymaker, B. F. 
Trout, John B. Warfel, Peter N. Wohlsen, Jr., Charles Wingender, 
Charles F. Wolfert, A. C. Welchans. 

Building Committee. 
J. C. Brock, Dr. R. M. Bolenius, C. E. Downey, F. S. Everts, John 
J. Jeffries, D. E. Long, Dr. Oliver Roland, William O. ^NLarshall, Wil- 
liam H. ATComsey, Dr. D. R. AFCormick, Thomas F. ^iFElligott, Rev. 
Emil Meister, B. F. Trout, John B. Warfel, Charles Windgender, 
David JM'AEullen, Chairman. 

R. K. Buehrle, City Superintendent. 

High School Teachers. 

Boys. 
J. P. JNFCaskey, Principal. 
James C. Gable, W. B. Fischer, 

Mary ^Martin, Emma Powers. 

Girls. 

Sarah A. Bundell, Principal, 
Rachel F. Jackson, Mary M. ]\Iusselman, 

Ida R. M'Millan, Clara C. Gompf, 

Bella Weitzel, Kate A. Sheetz, 

J. Darmstetter, German. 



416 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

Carl Matz, Vocal Music. Carl Thorbahn, Orchestral Music. 

Henry A. Schroyer, Marshal. 

Program mf; of Exercises. 

Orchestral Music by High School Orchestra, directed by Professor 
Carl Thorbahn. 

Prayer, Rev. Emil Meister. 

Vocal Music, Boys' and Girls' High Schools, directed by Professor 
Matz. 

Laying of the Cornerstone by Hon. David M'Mullen, President of the 
Lancaster School Board. 

Orchestral and Vocal Music by Combined High Schools. 

Address by Hon. N. C. Schaeffer, State Superintendent Public Instruc- 
tion, Pennsylvania. 

Benediction, Rev. J. H. Dubbs, Acting President, F. & M. College. 

Orchestral Music by High School Orchestra. 

Iinniediately before the laying of the corner-stone. Dr. R. 
M. Bolenins, secretary of the special commission, in a few 
appropriate remarks, delivered the following list of articles to 
the president of the board, to be placed in the corner-stone, 
namely : List of teachers and janitors and salaries paid ; city 
clerk's manual ; copies of " Intelligencer," " Examiner," 
" Morning News," " New Era," and all the weeklies published 
in the city ; programme of corner-stone exercises ; annual re- 
port of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and synop- 
sis of the proceedings of the special building committee. 

President McMullen, after a few introductory remarks in 
which he referred to the development of the county in educa- 
tional and intellectual lines, spoke as follows : " The most strik- 
ing feature of our time is the development of ideas. Progress 
in material improvements and in intellectual attainments has 
been so rapid as to be almost startling. The man who fifty 
years ago would have been bold enough to predict the condi- 
tions under which this twentieth century starts on its career, 
would have been considered a visionary dreamer of the wildest 
type — if, indeed, he would not have been pronounced a fit 
subject for the insane asylum. So rapidly have inventions and 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 417 

improvements followed one another that costly machinery and 
ingenious mechanical appliances in many instances have scarcely 
been put in position before further improvements have super- 
seded them and made them fit only for the junk pile. 

" The telephone, electric railway, the typewriter, the wire- 
less telegraph, and all the innumerable other inventions, all 
the projects of educated thought, have wholly changed the con- 
ditions of modern life, and these changed conditions have in 
turn brought about demands for better facilities and improve- 
ments in methods of popular education. 

" The ' three R.'s,' at one time deemed to be all the essen- 
tials of free education, are no longer sufficient — young men 
and women seeking employment in the various departments of 
business and mechanical pursuits are expected to have a more 
liberal education than was thought sufficient in the earlier days 
of popular education — in some departments, even, none but 
college graduates need apply. 

" The high school with its advanced curriculum and ex- 
tended facilities for higher education, is no longer a more or 
less ornamental adjunct, but has become an absolute require- 
ment of a good system of public schools. The Legislature has 
recognized this in its provisions for township high schools. 

" The demand for enlarged accommodations and improved 
facilities for such higher education under our common school 
system has long been felt in our good city of Lancaster, and 
it is in response to that feeling that this Board of Directors 
have undertaken the erection of this building. 

" We congratulate ourselves on having acquired this beau- 
tiful spot for its erection — beautiful not only in itself, but in 
location and surroundings, and peculiarly appropriate that it 
is situated in such close proximity to the last resting place of 
the great founder of our common school system, whose name it 

will bear. 

" Trusting that the name will always be, to those who 



418 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

seek and impart instruction within these walls, an incentive 
to great achievements and noble deeds, we now lay this corner- 
stone of the Stevens High School of Lancaster." 

It was at the conclusion of President McMuIlen's short, but 
interesting address, that Hon. N. C. Schaeffer said, among 
other things : " The high school is the most conspicuous edifice 
in the modern town. The school is the institution in which 
the masses, as well as the classes, have unbounded faith. The 
common religion of all creeds is education. As in olden times 
corner-stones were laid in the foundations of the temples of 
worship, so now corner-stones are laid in the buildings erected 
for school purposes. 

" This high school is to be named after Thaddeus Stevens, 
the savior of the public school system. This high school is 
destined to be the savior of the public schools of Lancaster 
city. Within its walls are to be educated the future teachers 
of our common schools. The ideals of scholarship and duty, 
the habits of thought and the sentiment of patriotism which 
this high school for girls will inculcate, are destined to pass 
over into the minds and hearts and lives of the rising genera- 
tion. In this way the girls' high school will mould the schools 
and homes of our city in the days to come. If the teachers 
who are employed for this high school have learned to think 
the best thoughts of the best men, if they have learned to think 
the best thoughts of God in the starry heavens above and in all 
nature around us, if they appreciate the things of the mind and 
the blessed realities of the higher life of thought — faith, hope 
and love — they will train a generation of citizens who will add 
lustre to the future of our city. If, on the other hand, the 
teachers lack scholarship and mental discipline ; if their minds 
cannot think, logically as well as vigorously ; if they have never 
tasted the fountains of higher knowledge in history, literature, 
science and art ; if they are strangers to the joys of higher life, 
the schools and the homes will soon feel the deteriorating efifect 




NATHAN C. SCHAEFFER, 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCHOOL. 419 

of the low ideals and defective scholarship, and the progress 
of in-breeding will give us homes and schools lacking the ele- 
ments of culture and virtue. 

" A high school that spends all its energies in the prepara- 
tion for college is a misfit quite as much as the high school 
whose graduates never enter college without conditions, or 
without one or more years additional preparation. The high 
school is for the people. It should seek to make the most out 
of the boys and girls who enter its classes. The boy who has 
talent for the mechanic arts, it should give instruction in man- 
ual training. To the boy who has a taste for business, it 
should offer the advantages for a good commercial course. To 
all the girls it should oft'er training in domestic science. It 
should instil into them the notion that the preparation of a 
palatable meal is the highest of the fine arts, and that a home 
well kept, with children well fed and well clothed and properly 
reared and trained, is w^orthy the ambition of the most gifted 
and highly educated woman the twentieth century can produce. 

" In the name of the home and the school, the church and 
the state, for the sake of all that is highest and best in human 
life, we lay this corner-stone of the Stevens IMemorial High 
School, cherishing the conviction that it will uplift the entire 
educational, social, industrial and domestic life of our people." 

What a splendid tribute was thus paid to this temple of 
learning by our broad-minded and highly educated superin- 
tendent, Doctor Schaeffer. Time, however, can only tell to 
what extent his expectations are to be realized. If his re- 
marks were intended to appeal to the teachers, how much more 
should they appeal to the present and future director, and to 
the entire community at large. 

The corner-stone laying above described was not, however, 
the first of the kind to take place in Lancaster. Eighty years 
before a number of enthusiastic educators met at the corner 
of Prince and Chestnut, and there laid the foundation-stone 



420 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

of the Lancasterian school building, which yet stands in all its 
old-time simplicity. Fifty years later, another tablet was laid 
of a high school building on West Orange street, under much 
less auspicious circumstances than those surrounding the laving 
of the corner-stone of the Stevens High School. 

And now, in closing this volume, what more delightful end- 
ing could any book have than that containing an account of the 
Annual Commencement of the boys' and girls' high schools, 
held at Rocky Springs Theatre, June 24, 1904. As the fifty- 
eight boys and girls participating are soon to take their places 
on the stage of busy life, foretelling the Greater Lancaster, we 
give in detail the programme, as follows : 

Prayer, Rev. E. H. Romig. 

Music— March, The Jolly Student (Zickel), High School Orchestra. 

*Sakitatory — Little 'J'hings of Nature, Esther L. Metzler. 

*Address — Railway Extension, Leon C. Heller. 

Essay — The Two Paths, Linnie G. Nagle. 

Essay — The Button on Fortune's Cap, Miriam A. Hoover. 

Essay — How the Story Spread, Lillian B. Thompson. 

Essay — Early Morning, Elizabeth L. Knight. 

Address — Books and Art of Printing, Ira P. Groff. 

Music — Chorus, Welcome, Pretty Primrose (Pinsuti) ; solo and 
chorus. Prince of Good Fellows (from Red Feather) (DeKoven) ; solo, 
Emma S. Shaub, High Schools. 

*Essay — A Truly Useful Life, Adele H. E. Tapper. 

*Address — Wonders of Radium, John W. Eckenrode. 

Essay— Why Not? Edna G. Miller. 

Essay — The Trained Nurse, Anna L. Metzler. 

Essay — " I Would if I Could," Ada R. Leaman. 

Essay — Black Diamonds, Laura H. McAllister. 

Address — Results of Antiquarian Research, Wm. W. Haun. 

Music — Chorus, Morning's Ruddy Beam (Linley), High Schools. 

*Essay — The Little Whiles of Life, Helen G. Guthrie. 

*Address — International Arbitration, Howard H. Bowman. 

Essay — The Girls That Are Wanted, Florence I. Mentzer. 

Essay-^The Ideal and the Real, Mary G. Kroeger. 

Essay— Wedded to Fashion, Anna E. Smith. 

Essay — Origin of Thanksgiving, Mary E. Hoak. 

Address — Federal Union and Treaty of The Hague, Albert C. Peterson. 



THE STEVENS HIGH SCPIOOL. 421 

— •' * 
Music — Chorus, Annie Laurie (Scott), Boys' High School. 

*Essay — Songs That Live, Emma S. Shaub. 

*Address — The Opening of Japan, Isaac S. Diller. 

Essay — Associates, Jennie j\I. Gotshall. 

Essay — Virtue, Mabel C. Sch river. 

Essay — Unconscious Influence, ]\Iargaret E. Zecher. 

Address — Importance of To-day, Peter N. Wohlsen. 

Music — Selection from opera " Maritana " (Wallace), High School 
Orchestra. 

*Essay — Speech and Silence, Mary G. Cummings. 

*Address — Two Great ]\Ien of Lancaster, James H. }klilliken (Thad- 
deus Stevens and Thomas H. Burrowes). 

Essay — The Power of Music, Amelia L. Aukamp. 

Essay — " The Ship of the Desert," Minnie A. Steele. 

Essay — American Literature, Margaret E. Aukamp. 

Address — The Far East Learns From the West, Clarence H. Smith. 

Music — Chorus, The Clang of the Forge (Rodney), High Schools. 

*Essay — Fondness of the American Girl for Titles, Maria W. Weaver. 

*Address — Architect of One's Own Fortune, Walter R. Cooke. 

Essay — The Almighty Dollar, Clara L. Remly. 

Essay— Cooking, Laura D. Wohlsen. 

Essay — Lost Moments, Anna A. Rogers. 

Address — Growth of Locomotive, Harry R. Haldy. 

Music — Duet, Fly Away, Birdling (Abt), Girls' High School Annex. 

*Essay — Famous Lancastrians, Eva J. Cummings. 

*Address — The Louisiana Purchase, John I. Long, 

Essay — Choice of Occupation, Sarah G. Swords. 

Essay — .Art and Its Expression of History, A. Miriam Herr. 

Essay — Our School Days, Adeline P. Weill. 

Address — Forestry a Vital Issue, Ivan Adams. 

Music — Chorus, Columbia Beloved (arranged from Donizetti), High 
Schools. 

*Essay — The Lord's Prayer, Elizabeth Bohn. 

*Address — The Rise of Russia, E. Ross Ranck. 

Essay — The Leap Year Girl, Florence M. Haines. 

Essay — Choosing Friends, Jennie K. Myers. 

Essay — Duties to Inferiors, Margaret D. Weitzcl. 

Address — Recent Advances in Astronomy, Warren F. Kindig. 

Music — March, "Uncle Sammy" (Holzmann), Graduates of Class of 
1904, Albert C. Peterson, Clarence H. Smith, John W. Eckenrode, 
Amelia L. Aukamp, Mabel M. Patterson, Wm. W. Haun, assisted by 
Jennie Mohring, James T. Lane and Clara Fisher, all being members ot 
the Lancaster High School Orchestra. 



422 THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 

*Essay — Adversity, Mabel M. Patterson. 

*Address — Modern Warfare, Albert G. Bovvers. 

Essay — Sunshine and Shadow, Maude M. Henry. 

Essay — " I'll Try," Anna M. Kendig. 

Essay — -The Month of Roses, Bessie M. A 1 rich. 

Address — Power of Machinery, Edward E. Stehman. 

Music — Duet, Summer Now Hath Come (Pinsuti), Girls' High 
School. 

'''Retrospect and Prophecy, George E. Kaufhold. 

Music- -Heather Rose Caprice (Lange), High School Orchestra. 

*Valedictory Essay — Friendship, M. Helen Henwood. 

Music — Class Song, Farewell (C. Matz), Graduates. 

Address to Graduates and Presentation of Diplomas, Hon. David 
M'Mullen, president. 

Doxology. 

Benediction, Rev. Emil Meister. 



ADDENDA. 



With the final ending of this vohime comes the gratifying 
report, insuring the location of the Thaddeus Stevens Indus- 
trial School in our midst. All honor then to the school children 
of Pennsylvania, to the members of the Legislature, and to all 
the other liberal-minded citizens who have contributed so gen- 
erously, and who have so unceasingly labored to make this most 
worthy project a possibility. May the erection of this school 
have its counterpart in other sections of the commonwealth, 
wherein, in the language of William Penn, our boys shall be 
taught some " useful trade or skill, so that the poor may work 
to live, and the rich if they become poor may not want." 



APPENDIX, 



LIST OF DIRECTORS. 

Names of directors who served on the Lancaster School Board from 1S38 
to 1905. Those marked with a star, constitute the present School Board. 



1838-1850. 



George Musser, 

George H. Krug, 

William Cooper, 

Dr. F. A. Muhlenberg. 

Rev. Samuel Bowman, 

Adam Reigart, 

Rev. J. T. Marshall Davie, 

Rev. Bernhard Keenan, 

Dr. Samuel Humes, 

Dr. John L. Atlee, 

John Mathiot, 

John R. Montgomery, 

John Zimmerman, 

Samuel F. Dale, 

John F. Steinman, 

Christopher Hager, 

Louis C. Jungerich, 

John Baer, 

Henry Keffer. 

John El)erman, 

Peter M'Conomy, 

David Cockley, 

John K. Findlay, 

John Rohrer, 

Peter G. Eberman, 

Rev. John C. Baker, 

Christian Kieffer, 

John W. Forney, 

Alexander L. Hayes, 

Charles Schaeffer, 

Benjamin Chimpneys, 

^^'illiam W". Pennal, 

Robert Moderwell, 

Whitson Benner, 

Frederick Zecher, 

Benjamin Samson, 

George Metzger, 

John H. Longenecker, 

George M. Steinman, 

Rev. George Bohnson, 



Samuel Gundaker, 
George H. Bombergtr, 
Peter Gerber, 
A. F. Hambright, 
Henry Weidler, 
William Mathiot, 
Dr. G. B. Kerfoct, 
Rev. John M'Nair, 
Godfried Zahm. 
James Whitehill, 
Jacob Weaver, 
Dr. Patrick Cassidy, 
Thomas H. Burrowes, 
Hiram B. Swarr, 
Rev. N. A. Keyes, 
Rev. James M' Carter, 
Michael Carpenter, 
William Heitshu, 
Rev. James Wiggans, 
Adam Wolf, 
William Whiteside, 
Thaddeus Stevens, 
Charles Glessner, 
Dr. H. E. Muhlenberg, 
John C. Van Camp, 
George M. Kline, 
Rev. William L^rie. 
Rev. \\'illiam Mooney. 
Rev. Edwin W. Hutter, 
John Keise, 
Col. George A. Ford. 
Daniel Rhoads, 
George B. Withers, 
Charles Gillespie, 
John W. Jackson, 
George A. Miller, 
Newton Lightner, 
M. D. Holl)rook, 
P. K. Breneman, 
Henry Benedict. 



423 



424 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Joseph Ehrenfried, 
Henry Rotharmel, 
George Sanderson, 
Edw. C. Darlington, 
Walter G. Evans, 
John Wise, 
Dr. Henry Carpenter, 
Charles A. Heinitsh, 
Amos Slaymaker, 
A. G. Helfenstein, 
J. H. Reigart, 
Philip Metzger, 
Henry Stoek, 
L N. Ellmaker, 
James Black, 
Joseph C. Clarkson, 
Daniel Lagin, 
John S. Dougherty, 
John W. Hubley, 
F. J. Kramph, 
Rudy F. Ranch, 
Jacob Weaver, 
Henry A. Wade, 

A. W. Russel, 
George W. Reidenbach, 
Charles M. Howell, 

B. F. Shenk. 

Rev. John S. Crumliaugh, 

Joshua W. Jack, 

Rev. William Schuyler, 

C. E. Gei,ger, 
David Hartman, 
Horace Rathvon, 
W. G. Kendrick, 
Jacob Albright, 
Tessie Landis, 



Rev. Jos. H. Kummer, 
D. D. Swartz, 
Henry Baumgardner, 
William A. Diller, 
Luther Richards, 
H. S. Gara, 
Rev. E. M. Thomas, 
Rev. A. H. Kremer, 
James Stewart, 
Rev. W. T. Gerhart, 
S. S. Rathvon, 
William P. Brinton, 
Charles F. Rengier, 
Samuel H. Reynolds, 
David King, 
Henry Franke, 



1850-1860. 

Rev. Henry A. Shultze, 
A. Herr Smith, 
William B. Wiley, 
Alexander H. Hood, 
W. H. Spangler, 
William Frick, 
Theo. W. Fenn, 
D. W. Patterson, 
J. B. Livingston, 
David G. Eshleman, 
John Hamilton, 
H. M. Locher, 
J. Aug. Ehler, 
"W. P. Leonard, 
Rev. J. S. Demund, 
Henry M. White, 
D. B. Bartholomew, 
Jonathan Dorwart, 
Ruben H. Long, 
O. J. Dickey, 
Edwin M. Kline, 
Rev. G. F. Krotel, 
William R. Wilson, 
Samuel Welchans, 
W. F. S. Warren, 
Rev. A. Nevin, 
W. A. Atlee. 
James M. Hopkins, 
William Carpenter, 
J. R. Russel, 
b. Heitshu, 
John J. Cochran, 
Dr. John Levergood, 
Dr. H. E. Muhlenberg, 
A. E. Roberts. 



1860-1870. 



George F. Breneman, 
Robert A. Evans, 
Charles A. Heinitsh, 
Simon P. Eby, 
Dr. John M'Calla, 
Emanuel Shober, 
John K. Reed, 
John Metzger, 
H. A. Rockafield, 
Daniel G. Baker, 
Henry E. Slaymaker, 
George Yeisley, 
Fred. S. Pyfer, 
Christian Zecher, 
William A. Morton, 
William Best, 



APPENDIX. 



425 



James Prangley, 
Henry W. Harberger, 
C. G. Beale, 
Rev. D. P. Rosenmiller, 
Anthony Iske, 
J. W. Johnson, 
Rev. Win. Hoppe, 
John Sheaff, 
Alexander Harris, 
William M'Comsey, 
Michael M'Cullon, 
George Bruhaker, 



John A. Erben. 
E. J. Erisinan, 
William Riddle, 
Abram Shank, 
J. M. Johnston, 
William Blackwood, 
Adam J. Eberly, 
Charles F. Eberman, 
Thomas Hayes, 
Dr. M. W. Raub, 
Charles Schwebel, 
Philip D. Baker. 
J. C. Muhlenberg, 
John Hart, 
*T. F. M'Elligott, 
Henry M. Sener, 
Wm. D. Stauffer, 
Rev. T. B. Barker, 



F. W. Haas, 
Adam Oblender, 
H. R. Breneman, 
A. J. Ringwalt, 
A. J. Snyder, 
Elam G. Snyder, 
George Darmstetter, 
J. Hay Brown, 
J. W. Byrne, 
Henry Gast, 
Peter M'Conomy, 
William Johnson, 
*Dr. D. R. M'Cormick, 
Simon W. Raub, 
John Ochs, 
Wm. S. Shirk, 
Samuel K. Lichty, 
A. Z. Ringwalt, 
Jacob Shindle, 
Charles J. White, 
William Wohlsen, 
Philip Bernard, 
37 



J. J. Sprenger, 
Dr. D. M'Cormick, 
John Wise, 
Charles A. Wentz, 
William L. Baer, 
George Nauman, 
George Wall, 
Dr. M. L. Herr, 
Dr. Samuel Welchans, 
M. J. Weaver, 
John I. Hartman, 
*John B. Warfel. 

1870-1880. 

Samuel Spiehlman, 
J. M. Rutledge. 
Felix Senn, 

Rev. D. H. Geissinger, 
William A. Wilson, 
Joseph Samson, 
H. Z. Rhoads, 
George W. Zecher, 
Henry Fisher, 
*William O. Marshall, 
Joseph Schmidt, 
Elam G. Snyder, 
Thomas B. Cochran, 
Daniel Smeych, 
A. K. Spurrier, 
Rev. C. Reimensnyder, 
Jacob M. Westheffer, 
Marriot Brosius, 

1880-1890. 

John M'Killips, 

*Jacob Pontz, 

J. F. Kautz, 

George F. Sprenger, 

Dr. J. P. Wickersham, 

*Dr. R. M. Bolenius, 

*W. W. Griest, 

Samuel F. Erisman, 

S. J. Owens, 

James M'Devitt, 

G. Edward Hegener, 

Charles Lippold, 

R. K. Schnader, 

*H. A. Schroyer, 

George N. Reynolds, 

Henry Wolf. 

Robert C. M'Donnell, 

*David M'Mullen, 

William R. Brinton, 

Richard M. Reilly, 

Jacob Rathfon, 

*Dr. Oliver Roland, 



426 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Abram G. Brosey, 
George A. Lane, 
J. P. Winower, 
Fred. Judith, 
Charles L Landis, 
* Charles E. Downey, 
*George Forrest, 
J. B. Milleysack, 
Jacob Othoffer, 
Elmer E. Steigerwalt, 
*Peter N. Wohlsen, Jr., 
George Gesell, 
*John J. Jeffries, 
*D. W. E. Poisal, 
*John C. Brock, 
William H. Bateman, 
*F. M. Dorwart, 
Frank Rudy, 
Dr. Henry Yeagley, 
*George N. Allabach, 
*Rev. Emil Meister, 
Dr. F. H. Myers, 
*Frank S. Everts, 
Ezra S. Leinbach, 
*David E. Long, 



I 890-1 905. 

*Edward D. Reilly, 
James D. Landis, 

A. J. Rieker, 
*Frank B. Trout, 
L. C. Reisner, 
^Wm. H. M'Comsey, 
*John C. Carter, 
Edward T. Fraim, 
Charles F. Hager, 
*Charles Wingender, 
*Simon Shissler, 

H. M. Watson, 
Charles F. Wolpert, 
Charles H. Locher, 

B. S. Schindle, 
*John Bucher, 
*Charles Nickel, 
*P. E. Slaymaker, 
Dr. F. A. Rupp, 
*B. F. Davis, 
*Henry Carpenter, 
*R. T. Farver, 
*A. C. Welchans, 
*Fred. Pyfer, 
*W. H. Roland. 



LIST OF TEACHERS. 



Names of teachers who taught in the Lancaster Free Schools from 1838 
to 1905. Those marked with a star are still teaching. 



I 838-1 850. 



Gad Day, 
Jacob Price, 
William R. Butler, 
L. I. Rhoads. 
Thomas Clark, 
Samuel Dwyer, 
James Allen Brown, 
William B. Reed, 
Samuel O. Nourse, 
Thomas Yarrell, 
Christie Musser, 
Maria E. Gill, 
Elizabeth Helfenstein, 
Mary Diller, 
Margaret Robinson, 
Mary A. Frazer, 
Catharine E. White, 
Mrs. Prudence M'Gee, 
Mrs. Henrietta Meyers, 
Mrs. Louisa Barton, 
Henrietta Hoffmeier, 
Henrietta Cromwell, 
Sarah Smith. 
Mrs. Sarah Mulford, 
Sarah Levis, 
Mary Lend. 
Mary C. Thompson, 
Margaret Samson, 
J. M. Newson, 
John Boardman, 
Catharine Eberman, 
Mrs. Annie M'Croskey, 
Annie E. Jones, 
Mrs. Mary Ann Boyd, 
Mary A. Shetland. 
Mrs. Margaret Getz, 
Daniel Kirkwood, 
Louis Hood, 
Samuel E. Becker, 
William F. Mackey, 
Kersey Coates, 



Joshua O. Colburn, 
Lucy W. Williams, 
Mary Waltz, 
Mrs. Mary C. Maxwell, 
William Cowan, 
Clara S. Zimmerman, 
William Merrill, 
Elizabeth Eichley, 
Elizabeth Whiteford, 
Jane Conrad, 
John Yost, 
F. S. Warren, 
Susan Smith, 
Annie F. Kuhns, 
John C. VanCamp, 
Isaac Bonsall, 
Annie Coates, 
George Blythe, 
Annie Nye, 
Delia White, 
Adelia G. Smith, 
Annie S. Eberman, 
Mary A. Sullivan, 
Mary W. Russel, 
Mrs. M. W. Moore, 
Mrs. H. C. Myers, 
Mary Middleton, 
L. Viola Miller, 
Mary E. O'Donald, 
Elizabeth dotty, 
Howard Gilbert, 
Mary A. Brooke, 
Catharine A. Wengert, 
Emma Benner, 
Mary A. Reed, 
Elizabeth Samson, 
Mrs. Ihling, 
Mrs. Kate Coates, 
Mary Griffith, 
H. V. Morris. 



427 



428 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



1850-1860. 



Sarah Musser, 
Mary C. Reinstein, 
Amos Row, 
W. V. Davis, 
Charles Twining, 
A. P. Shock, 
Ellen A. Gillespie, 
Seymour Preston, 
Walter S. Drysdale, 
E. E. Higbee, 
Margie Markee, 
Catharine Eberman, 
Mrs. Nancy Mailey, 
Sarah W. Vodges, 
Helen C. Walker, 
Adelia A. Hazzard, 
Margie Miller, 
Margaret White, 
E. B. Kieffer, 
A. F. Mengel, 
Mary A. Davis, 
J. B. Livingston, 
Annie E. Rakestraw, 
Parthena Rathvon, 
Alice White, 
Frank E. Andrews, 
Mary L. Andrews, 
Harriet Kennedy, 
Matilda Jefferies, 
M. G. W. Maxwell, 
I. Newton Pierce, 
Emanuel J. Erisman, 
M. E. Swentzel, 
Mrs. Catharine Reinstein, 



J. W. Guernsey, 
L. M. Hobbs, 
Geo. R. Bau, 
Elizabeth J. Neeper, 
Mrs. C. Lemon, 
Sallie E. Garber, 
Sarah E. Powers, 
Annie C. Bundell, 
Annie M. Coyle, 
Harriet Zug, 
Emma Geidner, 
Annie G. Scovern, 
Catharine Auchey, 
Amanda Stock, 
Hanna Martin, 
Annie Eby, 
Emma White, 
Alice Shrum, 



Rosa Voigt, 

Kate Epley, 

John S. Crumbaugh, 

*J. P. M'Caskey, 

T. J. Dunlevy, 

Benjamin Hershey, 

C. W. Innes, 

Rebecca M'Comsey, 

Frederick Gast, 

Catharine Long, 

Catharine Steigerwalt, 

Harriet Swann, 

E. R. Keiffer, 

Kate Flynn, 

jJr. T. L. Budd, 

C. Stock, 

J. D. Nichols, 

Mary L. Moore, 

Alice Maxwell, 

Samuel C. Walker, 

Sarah Gerber, 

Annie E. Shearer, 

E. C. M'Croskey, 

Mary M'Gee, 

Joseph L. Amer, 

Elizabeth White, 

*Sarah H. Bundell, 

Miss R. Budd, 

Catharine W. M'Caskey, 

Annie Everts, 

Oscella Moore, 

Samuel W. Reigart, 

Mary A. Reinhold. 



I 860-1 870. 



Mary L. Wiley, 
Mary E. Yeisley, 
Matilda Zug, 
Victoria L. Nourse, 
Virginia Witwer, 
Ella Meixell, 
Fanny Haley, 
Ada Reinstein, 
Mrs. C. Bryant, 
James B. Kremer, 
Ella Atkinson, 
Stephen G. Boyd, 
Benjamin Ruth, 
William Riddle, 
Lottie Spearing, 
*James C. Gable, 
Emma S. Halbach, 
Emma Wiley, 



APPENDIX. 



429 



Jennie E. Ferry, 
R. S. Gates, 
Arabella Zug, 
Annie Sprenger, 
R. A. Townsend, 
Lydia \v hitson, 
Anna Geidner, 
Annie Girvin, 
Mary McComsey, 
*Emma Powers, 
M. E. Melford, 
Sarah E. Murphy, 
Annie M. Etter, 
Louisa A. Ball, 
*Annie C. Rathvon 
Annie C. Brubaker, 
Sue Echlernacht, 
Blanche M. M'Cormick, 
Annie Marshb.ank, 
Ellen G. M'Clellan, 



Mary E. Melford, 
M. G. M'Cormick, 
Annie Marshbank, 
Mary Carpenter, 
*Georgie Bundell, 
Rebecca Holbrook, 
Emma Green, 
Clara V. Lichty, 
Mary R. Slokum, 
Amelia Shenk, 
Washington Clark. 
*Emma L. Downey, 
Emma Hollinger, 
Matilda Conroy, 
Frank Conioy. 
Mary Groff, 
Emma Hollinger, 
*Mary Musselman, 
Alice C. Flinn. 
Elizabeth Shearer, 
Bella M'Cormick, 
Mary L. Channel!, 
Nettie C. Thomas. 
Vene Irvin, 
Ada Eberman, 
Charles Steinmiller, 
Emily S. Albn'ght, 
Kate Lutz, 
Sue Fisher, 
Kate A. Hill, 
Kate Davis, 
Nellie E. Rupley, 
Mrs. A. W. Livingston, 



Sue Girvin, 
Margie Erisman, 
Mary Bateman, 
Ella E. Morrison, 
Annie Hartman, 
Mary G. Maxwell, 
Hallie S. Dunlap, 
E. E. Bateman, 
Kate Marshall. 
*Rachael F. Jackson. 
Daniel D. Hcrr. 
Sallie Weaver, 
Mrs. C. Reinstein, 
E. R. Budd. 
Ellen C. M'Caskey, 
Clara B. Huber, 
Alice Stoner, 
Andrew J. Dunlap, 
Ella J. Atkinson. 



1870-1880. 



Mary A. Dougherty, 
Martha S. Keiffer, 
Sue Rupley, 
Sarah A. Meyers, 
Emma H. Hensel, 
*Mary J. Bruning, 
Emmer V. Baker, 
Sarah E. Dengler, 
Caroline Evans. 
Sue M. Holbrook, 
Jennie Davis. 
^Henrietta K. Harkins, 
J. F. M'Comsey, 
* Emily Suydam, 
*Ida M. Lind, 
*Minnie E. Raub, 
*Lizzie C. Marshall, 
*Mary E. Palmer, 
F. J. Johnson, 
Emma Dorwart, 
Mary E. Stahl, 
Kate M. Summy, 
Nellie Johnston, 
Julia Villee, 
Roxey Bair, 
Ida Hantch, 
Alice Marshall. 
*Minnie R. Witwer, 
Sue Stanley, 
*Kate Shirk. 
*Ella M. Musser, 
Wm. B. Hall. 
D. B. Couzzins. 



430 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Lillie H. Clarkson, 
*Kate Buckius, 
*Emma S. Brimmer, 
*Carl Matz, 
Lizzie Carpenter, 
Mary A. Zuercher, 
Ella Beates, 
Margie E. Gable, 
Jessie Landis, 
Alice Gundaker, 
Sarah Harkins, 
*Sue Harkins, 
Frank Griest, 
Emma V. Leonard, 
Ella Carpenter, 



Mary Sener, 
Sarah L. King, 
A. Blanche Lichty, 
*Ida R. M'Millan, 
*Mary Sharp, 
Hattie M'Keown, 
Frances Kauffman, 
*Bella Weitzel, 
Sadie E. Fleming, 
Mary Royer, 
*A. R. Stamy, 
*Laura J. Falck, 
*Hannah R. Finger, 
Sue E. Ellmaker, 
Kate M'Ginnis, 
*Frank Shiljley, 
*Mary Achmus, 
*Augustus M. Bushong 
Ella Zecher, 
Mame Underwood, 
Kate Barnes, 
* Margie Humphreville, 
Annie C. Hess, 
Libbie B. Weber 
Estelle Bartel, 
*Carrie Breneman, 
*Daisy Smaling, 
*Elizabeth Eaby, 
Wilhelmina Rohlfs, 
M. Berner, 
Emma B. Hoch, 
Clara E. Hoch, 
Mary Etchells. 
Mrs. C. V. Gilbert, 
Kate Baldwin, 
Mary Zahm, 
Louisa Meyers, 
*E. Lyde Irvin, 



Sarah E. Smith, 
*Annie Carter, 
Moses Hollinger, 
Clara O. Spindler, 
George N. Glover, 
*Lola Zug, 
Kate Clifton, 
Sarah A. Stiffel, 
W. H. Levergood, 
*Mary E. Guthrie, 
*John B. Kevinski, 
Nettie Yonkers, 
Mary M'Neal. 
*Minnie Gaintner, 



1880-1905. 



*Lizzie C. Marshall, 
*Bertha Cochran, 
*Adaline Spindler, 
Gertrude Halbach, 

* Catharine Sharp, 
*Grace Hurst, 
Marie Hurst, 
*Naomi Eberman, 
Wilhelmina Wolf, 
*Annie C. Shaub, 
Celia Gable, 

Mary Reimensnyder, 
*Grace Wylie, 
*Mary Martin, 
*Elizabeth Musketnuss, 
Ella Bateman, 
Grace Hoffmeier, 
Josephine M'Ctdly, 
Lena Hege, 
Clara Herzog, 
*Kate M. Eagles, 
*Ida E. Wolf, 
*Clara C. Gompf, 
'''Ida Ream, 
*Clementine Wisner, 
*Lillian Brant, 
*Mary C. Hartman, 

* Gertrude Heck, 
*Ida R. Rowe, 
*Margaret M'Carthy, 
Ada Anderson, 
*Ida M. Hall, 
Bernice Stauter, 
Harriet V. Curtis, 
Annie Hess, 

*Kate Buckius, 
*Kate Bundell, 
*Mary L. Eaby, 



APPENDIX. 



431 



*Martha (]. Mifflin, 
*Salonie Carpenter, 
*Elizabeth M'Grann, 
*Nellie Hauser, 
*Sadie Hoak, 
* Annie M. Eby, 
Helen R. Stahr, 
*Mary Cooper, 
*Mary C. Ranck, 
*Estella Oster, 
Blanche Heidelbach, 
*Lorena Russel, 
*Mary Kohler, 
*Margaret K. Sales, 
Irene Martzall, 
*Bertha Urlass, 
*Jennie Dundore, 
Elizabeth Weh, 
Alice Raub, 
*Emilie Ritter, 
Joseph S. Strickler, 
*Annie Becker, 
M. Catharine Smith, 
Florence Chalfant, 
*H. Mary Rose, 

* Carrie Jeffries, 
Laura A. Greenwald, 
Christine Vollmer, 
Elizabeth Weber, 
*Ada Cochran, 
Catharine Baldwin, 
*Magdaline Remly, 
*Mary Hoover, 
Alice Kanarr, 
*John Pyott, 
*Mary L. Snyder, 

* Charles M' Mullen, 
*Isaiah Seitz, 



*B. W. Fisher, 
Emma M. Bolenius, 
*Mary Meister, 
*Margaret Goeble, 
*Anna Haus, 
*Lillian Iredale, 
*01ive Bassler, 
*()live R. Stoner, 
*J. May Breneman, 
Maud Bitner, 
♦Carrie L. Foreman, 
*Bertha Snyder, 
*Edith Uiffenderfer, 
Susan Martin, 
*Marian Pyott, 
*Naomi Lantz, 
*Daisy Hoffmeier, 
♦Elizabeth Wohlsen, 
Edith Kautz, 
♦Catharine Brown, 
♦Laura Munson, 
♦Helen Hickman, 
♦Rev. J. Darmstetter, 
♦Carl Thorbahn, 
♦Elizabeth Ricksecker, 
♦Edith Maurer, 
♦Annie R. Maxwell, 
♦Helen Amos, 
♦Lillie M. Gaintner, 
♦Lulu Greiner, 
♦Florence Yost, 
♦Mary B. Meyers, 
♦Kate A. Sheetz, 
♦Nellie Hensel, 
♦Bessie E. Pontz, 
♦Alice E. Spindler, 
♦Emma E. Smaling, 
♦S. E. Gable. 



LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE ALUMNI 
ASSOCIATION. 



Total number of graduates of the Boys' and Girls' High Schools from 
1854 to 1904 is 1,744. 

Members of the Alumni Association from 1854 to 1904 is 1,004 — those 
marked with a star deceased. 



Class of 1854. 

*George M. Franklin, 
*William A. Montgomery, 
Rev. Samuel W. Reigart, D.D. 
Sallie Steinman. 

Class of 1855. 

Elizabeth M'Vey, 
Mary L. Sener, 
Amanda Stoek, 
Parthenia Rathvon, 
*John C. Long. 

Class of 1856. 

*Mary Miller, 
*Annie E. Kramph. 

Class of 1857. 

Mary L. Strine, 
Mary M'Conomy, 
Mary G. Metzger, 
*J. W. Sherer, 
H. R. Breneman, 
Joseph L. Amer. 

Class of 1858. 

*Jane M. Lowry, 
Ada L. Metzger, 
*Jane P. Sample, 
Mary E. Widmyer, 
Emma A. Hambright, 
M. Naomi Erisman, 
John Black, 
*William J. Cooper, 
George M. Hambright, 
Charles E. Long, 
*John J. Rooney, 
Wm. L. Sener. 



Class of 1859. 
Sarah H. Bundell, 
Louisa A. Rosenmiller, 
Susan Clarkson, 

* David Rosenmiller, 
*Aliles Rock. 

Class of i860. 

Lucretia C. Himes, 
Mary Richards, 
Mary Hartman, 
Sophie BainViorough, 
*George H. Richards, 

* Frank Muhlenl:)erg. 

Class of 1861. 

Mary E. ^'eisley, 
Emily F. Widmyer, 
Victoria L. Nourse, 
Sarah E. Powers, 
John M. Conroy, 
*Philip D. Baker, 
George R. Welchans, M.D. 
John H. Baumgardner, 
Thomas B. Cochran. 

Class of 1862. 

*Sue E. Kline, 
*Margie H. M. Erisman, 
Frances E. Gable, 
Wash. F. Hambright, 
Alfred A. Hubley, 

Class of 1863. 
Mary M. Martin, 
Annie C. Shober. 

Class of 1864. 

*Massey Burrowes, 
Hettie H. Lecher, 



432 



APPENDIX. 



433 



M. Lizzie Weaver, 
James C. Galile, 
George F. Rathvon. 

Class of 1865. 

Georgie Bundell, 
Emma L. Downey, 
Carrie E. Kurtz, 
Rev. Wm. K. Frick, 
Thos. F. M'Elligott, 
*Henry C. Frazer, 
*Samuel R. M'Cleery, M.D. 

Class of 1866. 

Clara B. Huber, 
Emily T. Albright, 
*S. Rebecca Holbrook. 

Class of 1867. 

Julia Shober, 
Minerva A. Witwer, 
*John A. Boring, 
Henry C. Burrowes, 
A. N. Breneman, 
♦Walter A. Haldy. 

Class of 1868. 

Alice M. Kapp, 
Mary E. Gormley, 
Naomi C. Miller, 
Sue M. Holbrook, 
Mary A. Dougherty, 
William T. Jeffries, 
H. E. WesthaefTer, M.D. 
Harry B. Cochran, 
*Addison H. Fritchey. 

Class of 1869. 

Emily Suydam, 
Emma M. Kline, 
Edwin S. Smeltz, 
Reah Frazer, 
John S. Rengier. 

Class of 1870. 

Sallie Haml)right, 
Jessie Landis, 
Millie Fleetwood, 
Linnie E. Graham, 
Kate Bundel, 
Carrie Evans, 
Lizzie B. Best, 
Wra. M. Black, 



Abraham G. Erlanger, 
Wm. Y. Haldy, 
George R. Rohrer. 1\LD., 
Harry A. Rathvon. 

Class of 1871. 

*Sue W. Barnes. 

Sue S. Jeffries, 

Anna Clark, 

Kate Buckius, 

Christian H. Brown, RLD. 

John C. Carter, 

Clarence V. Lichty, 

Frank L. Sprecher, 

Charles L Landis. 

Class of 1872. 

Ida Hantch, 

Amanda Landes, 

Jessie Warfel, 

Sarah E. Smith, 

Annie Hambright, 

Mary L. Swartzwelder, 

John A. Falck, 

J. Harold Wickersham, 

William Henderson, 

N. Clark Burnham, M.D., 

John W. Crumbaugh, 

John J. Cochran. 

Benjamin D. Gill. 

Class of 1873. 

Alice Marshal], 
Ella Musser, 
Jennie Potts, 
Frances K. Welchens, 
Mary Frailey, 
John W. Lorentz, 
Fred'k J. Amweg, 
Franklin Suydam. 

Class of 1874. 
*Sue M. K. Stanley, 
Sarah Stiffel, 
Mary B. Miller, 
Kate V. M'Keown, 
Ella M. Morrow, 
* Charles S. Burns, 
John M. Davidson, 
Charles E. Downey, 
A. Bern. Hirsh, M.D., 
Henry F. Eberman, M.D., 
Herbert Johnston, 
Percy Carpenter. 



434 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Class of 1875. 

Ida V. Hamp, 

Myra L. Shank, 

*William F. Swilkey, 

*Harry L. Villee, 

Daniel R. M'Cormick, M.D. 

Class of 1876. 

Dora Wickersham, 
Harriet Curtis, 
Hallie V. Bechtold, 
Lillie E. Marks, 
*Harry I. Spencer, 
A. P. Schnader, 
Herbert W. Hartman, 
W. Frank Gorrecht, 
Jacob F. Potts, 
Chester W. Cummings. 

Class of 1877. 
L. R. Geisenberger. 

Class of 1878. 

M. Elizabeth Hartman, 
Emma Geist, 
Alice E. Royer, 
*Mary Sener, 
Clara O. Spindler, 
Margaretta K. Heinitsh, 
John E. Snyder, 
Samuel B. Downey, 
Milton S. Falck, 
Horace D. Gast, 
John G. Warfel, 
Elmer E. Steigerwalt. 

Class of 1879. 

Laura J. Falck, 
Mary E. S. M'Neal, 
Hanna R. Finger, 
Emma A. Groff, 
Ella L. Miller, 
Mary Bowman, 
Louisa Miller, 
John F. Heinitsh, 
Edwin W. M'Caskey, 
Isaac C. Hartman, 
James M. Yeagley, M.D., 
Henry W. Stein, 
John C. Burrowes. 



Class of 1880. 

Ella F. Gundaker, 
Mary Sharp, 
Laura J. Linville, 
Mary Achmus, 
Ella K. Laverty, 
Harry E. Stoner, 
*Charles W. Heitshu, 
M. B. Hartman, 
*Edwin L. Huber, 
Charles H. Frey, 
C. Emlen Urban, 
Harry B. Suavely, M.D., 
Grant Rohrer. 

Class of 1881. 

*Jennie E. Ochs, 
Susan C. Ellmaker, 
Lulu B. Long, 
K. Frances Kreider, 
Eleanor E. Dubbs, 
*Minnie I. Brown, 
Carrie E. Myers, 
Minnie E. Raub, 
W. Scott Adler, 
I'rank B. M'Clain, 
Howard T. Hays, 
Benj. A. Spindler, 
George W. Hetrick, 
W. H. Lindemuth, 
Charles A. Miller, 
Clarence H. Clark, 
Wm. Miller Herr, M.D., 
George F. K. Erisman, 
Levi W. Horting. 

Class of 1882. 
Bertha K. Morrow, 
Hallie A. Skeen, 
Elizabeth C. Eaby, 
Kate D. Shirk, 
Sadie E. Fleming, 
Emma B. Lively, 
Eleanor S. King, 
Libbie M. Weber, 
* Flora M. Beard, 
Kate P. M'Ginnis, 
Naomi Eberman, 
*Wm. C. Pyfer, 
Rev. George M. Dorwart, 
*James H. Munson, 

C. Reese Ealiy, 

D. Sherman Smith, D.D.S. 
William L. Gable. 



APPENDIX. 



435 



Class of 1 88: 

E. Ada Zellers, 
Ida K. Huzzard, 
Emma C. Eberly, 
Emma E. Sener, 
Ella R. Shirk, 
Sallie S. Long, 
Marian B. Kendig, 
Annie C. Hess, 
Katie E. Gast, 
Harriet R. Quinn, 
Esther M. Clarkson, 
Maria L. Clarkson, 
Josephine E. Franklin, 
Sarah T. Home, 
* Clarence S. Storm feltz, 
Fred. S. Pyfer. 
Albert K. Albright, 
Monroe B. Hirsh, 
R. D. M'Caskey, 
John H. Hartman, 
Wm. G. Baker, Jr., 
Walton B. HoUinger, 
Edw. R. Garvin, 
Sydney Z. Evans. 

Class of i88^ 

Mary Stanton, 
Clara Ream, 
Anna L. Kreider, 
Mary. A. Kreider, 
Mary E. Underwood, 
Hattie Hartman, 
Mazie E. Faegley, 
Carrie S. Breneman, 
Kate M. Raub, 
Ella G. Zecher, 
Alice Z. Evans, 
Bertha D. Cox. 
*Annie M. Wolf, 
Daisie Smaling, 
Margie L. Humphreville, 
Anna M. Swartzwelder, 
Abraham Bitner, 
A. Wayne Bitner, 
William J. Eberly, 
\\'m. M. Maxwell, 
Martin L. Ream, 
*Edwin D. Sprecher, 
John N. Hetrick, 
Charles C. Herr. 
Arthur Boardman, 



Class of 1885. 

Esther K. Metzger, 
*Mary Ue W. Breneman, 
Margaretta P. Kieffer, 
Alice M. Fahnestock, 
*Myra Haverstick, 
Mamie E. Etchells, 
M. Louise Stamm, 
Emma M. Groff, 
William H. Welchans, 
Robert W. Groezinger, 
William L. Marshall. 
Frank G. Hartman, M.D. 
George E. Zellers, Jr., 
Edward D. Reilly, 
Charles E. Long, 
Edward M. Kauffman, 
Theo. B. Apple, M.D., 
H. C. Slaymaker, 
Edward R. Heitshu, 

Class of 1886. 

*Millie C. Swope, 
Elizabeth M. Strachan, 
Lucie C. Smith, 
Adele A. A. Matz, 
Ella M. Bateman, 
Bertha L. Cochran, 
E. Hattie Villee, 
M. Grace Wylie, 
*Ada L. Anderson, 
Bertha V. Long, 
Mary E. Hensler, 
Ida M. Hall, 
Gilbert H. Hartley, 
William H. Schaum, 
David B. Widmyer, 
George W. Byerly, 
Charles F. Stauffer, 
Wm. D. Long, 
Edward E. Barr, 
Charles Hartman. 
M. D. Lederman. M.D., 
A. F. Bitner, 
William E. Powell, 
Alfred E. Urban, 
Edward G. Eby. 

Class of 1887. 

Bertie Best, 

Ella G. Ball, 

Clara C. Gumpf, 

E. Gertrude Halbach, 



436 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Mary Hoster, 
S. Grace Hurst, 
*Hattie W. KaulTiiian, 
Inie B. Kieffer, 
Anna M. Klugh, 
Lillie Miles, 
Maggie M. Musser, 
Ella D. Myers, 
Adda L. Porter, 
Bessie Prangley, 
Grace M. Shearer, 
Adelina B. Spindler, 
Mary G. Starr, 
Clara A. Stauffer, 
Elizabeth W. Sherts, 
Ida E. Wolfe, 
Laura J. Weidle, 
Ina C. Getz, 
David B. Bair, 
*George A. Eagles, 
Charles Eby, 
William H. Goll, 
Jacob R. Groff, 
* Elmer Harnish, 
Herbert Heitshu, 
*Clarence H. Hirsh, 
Charles Ilyus, 
Charles E. Long, Jr., 
John S. Martin, 
Leon R. Miller, 
Charles Ream, 
Warren S. Rehm, 
Walter A. Reinoehl, 
Nelson B. Reynolds, 
William Z. Roy, 
*Charles H. Welchans, 
Charles E. Zortman. 

Class of i8E 

Mary M. Berner, 
Mary H. Byrne, 
Etta M. Crawford, 
Anna F. Frailey, 
Maribel Hartman, 
M. Grace Hoffmeier, 
Estella Hoffer, 
Kate A. Huber, 
Lillie R. Marshall, 
Josephine M'Culley, 
Anna C. Sliaub, 
Emma E. Smaling, 
*Alice Whitson, 
*Hannah Whitson, 
A. Maude Hubley, 



Mary C. Hartman, 

Esther M. Kendig, 

Joseph H. Apple, 

Abram Adams, 

Joseph R. T. Gray, Jr., M.D., 

Walter Groff, 

*William P. Harding, 

Walter W. Harding, 

*Glessner M. Leaman, 

Hiram D. M'Caskey, 

Joseph B. M'Caskey, Jr., D.D.S. 

Herbert C. Miller, 

Samuel W. Miller, M.D., 

Elmer Ream, 

Frank H. Rudy, 

Kendig H. Bare 

Class of 1889. 

Daisy E. Anderson, 
*Margaret M. Arnell, 
Mary E. Groff, 
Mary E. Huber, 
Ella L. Hershey, 
FJsie A. Miller, 
Martha G. Mifflin, 
Ella C. McCaskey, 
Bertha G. Villee, 
Wilhelmene C. Wolf, 
Clara M. Herzog, 
Ada Mary Cochran, 
Lillie M. Hart, 
Mary P. Ziegler, 
M. Elizabeth Deen, 
Margaret F. Erisman 
Annie R. Maxwell, 
Elizabeth F. Musketness, 
William C. Bletcher, 
William H. Herr, M.D., 
*George H. Kinzer, 
Charles L. Marshall, 
Harry F. Myers, M.D., 
Walter B. M'Caskey, 
Walter W. Watson, 
Charles W. Selvert. 

Class of 1890. 

Lizzie E. Auxer, 
Lilian E. Brandt, 
Sarah E. Cramer, 
Annie M. Eby, 
Frances F. Fralich, 
Kate Gorrecht, 
Ida Groff, 
Mabel Houser, 



APPENDIX. 



437 



Sallie E. Humphrcville, 
Grace E. Loucks, 
Annie M. Metzger, 
I.ulu M. Munson, 
Margaret S. M'Carthy, 
Lucy F. Pixton, 
Emma E. Raab, 
Lois A. Schum, 
Bertha Snyder, 
Alice E. Spindler, 
Lilla S. Urban, 
Lulu M. Getz, 
Anna N. Best, 
Katie Coho, 
Bessie C. Pyfer, 
Maud Huebener, 
Laura Kready, 
Mary F. Cooper, 
Lena F. Hege, 
Mary D. Kohler, 
William E. Albright, 
*Clarence G. Bausman, 
Charles E. Bonine, 
Sumner L. Brown, 
Walter A. Faegley, 
Ralph S. Houser, 
George W. Leonard, 
David R. Locher 
Morris Loeb, 
W. B. Musselman, 
John A. Nauman, 
Reuben S. Oster, 
John D. Pyott, 
Carl F. Rengier, 
Albert L. Schaum, 
Philip Steffee, 
F. C. Swreton, 
Nathaniel Thurlow, 
*Tohn W. Baker, 
Harry C. Hall. 

Class of i8qi. 

C. Elizabeth Breneman, 
Mary A. Bartholomew, 
Gertrude O. Dorwart. 
M. Kate Eagles, 
*Mary E. Edwards, 
Ida E. Groff, 
Mary B. Hershey, 
* Laura W. Irving, 
Ella M. Matz, 
Lilian A. Pontz, 
Clementine Pioso, 
Lorena F. Russel, 



Ida Ream, 

Grace E. Steigerwalt, 
Bernice A. Stauter, 
Carrie E. Steckman, 
Margaret E. Zeller, 
David B. Bartholomew, 
Newton E. Bitzer, M.D., 
Jacob H. Byrne. 
Rev. Howard W. Diller, 
James F. Erisman, 
John L. Frantz, 
John G. Fritchey, 
Rev. Hugh K. Fulton, 
Charles D. Hubert, 
J. Roland Kinzer, 
B. Frank Kready, 
Walter J. Leonard, 
Joseph R. Mercer, 
Walter A. Miller, 
Harry W. M'Ginnis, 
Washington M. Nixdorf, 
Frederick J. Rieker, 
John Sachs, 
W. E. Underwood, 
Frank T. Thurlow. 

Class of 1892. 

Margaret Cammack, 

Anna S. Gable, 

Anna H. Heckert, 

Helen J. Huebener, 

Blanche Inglis, 

Mary R. M'Mullen, 

Lida M. Schofield, 

Mary E. Stevens, 

Anna M. Weaver, 

Annie E. Whitson, 

Ella H. Wolf, 

Gertrude Sweeton, 

*M. Catharine Smith, 

Rev. Samuel C. Albright, 

Scott W. Baker, 

Charles G. Baker, 

B. Frank Eby, 

Harry E. Edgerly, 

Jacob L. Frey, Jr., 

Harry C. Gable, 

E. Lewis Higbee, 

Charles M. Howell, Jr., 

Rev. Charles T. Isenberger, 

Theodore Joseph, 

*George Kepler, 

James W. Leonard, 

John C. M'Clain, 



438 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Benjamin A. M'Comsey, 

Donald M. Myers, M.D., 

Alfred C. Smith, 

S. E. Sphoont (W. S. Gordon), 

Loeb A. Sulcov, 

William N. Warren. 

Class of 1893. 

Mae C. Alexander, 
Effie G. Bowman, 
E. May Baker, 
Zillah M. Cummings, 
Mary Fasnacht, 
M. Grace Faesig, 
Martha M. Givler, 
Elizabeth R. Gerhard, 
Sadie E. Hoak, 
Clara E. Hartman, 
Bertha C. Hiller, 
Mary L. Hoover, 
Stella W. Oster, 
Marian J. Pyott, 
Emilie U. Ritter, 
Alice M. Raub, 
Lilian G. Sensenig, 
Mary A. Sweigert, 
Mary E. Sachs, 
I. Rosella Shoemaker, 
Mary L. Waitz, 
Jennie Whitson, 
Naomi E. Warfel, 
Katharine C. Zook, 
Oscar C. Cambell, M.D., 
Robert C. Davis, 
Harry E. Diller, 
Arthur J. Harner, 
Frank K. Lane, 
Edgar H. Lavan, 
B. Ovid Musselman, 
George Peusch, 
E. Harvey Powell, 
Joseph E. Stott. 

Class of 1894. 

Ella M. Amer, 
Bessie G. Bailsman, 
Lulu B. Barnes, 
Emma M. Bolenius, 
Edith M. Bonine, 
Bertha M. Eichholtz, 
Elizabeth M. Hatz, 
Edith F. Harner, 
Loretta L. Hoover, 
Anna M. Kreider, 



Irene T. Martzell, 
Bertha Pioso, 
Helen Richards, 
Florence M. Roy, 
Christine E. Vollmer, 
Elizabeth G. Vatter, 
Bessie M. Wolf, 
Annie E. Witmer, 
Mary E. Cochran, 
Arthur H. Ball, 
Harry C. Bolenius, 
Ralph W. Coho, 
George W. Cornelius, 
Leon G. Dodge, 
Harold F. Diffenderfer, 
William H. Kready, 
Guy H. Killian, 
Robert Bruce M'Gaw, 
Donald G. M'Caskey, 
Walter S. Mellinger, 
W. F. Satchell, 
Charles W. Steckman, 
Harry A. Stauffer, 
James R. Elliott. 

Class of 1895. 
Blanche B. Bonine, 
Mary A. Bartholomew, 
Edith Chalfant, 
Mary E. Gerhard, 
Margaret Goeble, 
Marie Hurst, 
Anna M. Haas, 
Gertrude H. Haldy, 
Margaret Griel, 
Lilian Iredale, 
Sarah L M'Ginnis, 
Irene L. Marion, 
Bessie May Nowlen, 
Mary Belh Stahr, 
Minerva Trissler, 
A. Edna Miller, 
Ella E. Eagles, 
L. De Weldon Breneman, 
William P. Cooper, 
Alfred J. Fritchey, 
Howard Vv. Fry, 
Paul A. Herr, 
Theodore C. Kinder, 
Walter E. Keogh, 
Leon G. Loeb, 
Eugene E. Porter, 
•Martin L. Reilly, 
Edmund T. Satchell, 
Oliver J. Smith, 



APPENDIX. 



439 



George R. Weber, 
Charles E. Wisner, 
Leon L. Woodward. 

Class of 1896. 

B. Maye Apperley, 
Sara E. Caldwell, 
Daisy L. Banner, 
Lena Dinkleberg, 
Bessie Landis Dunlap, 
Edith S. Grabill, 
Elizabeth R. Groff, 
Gertrude A. Gutfleisch, 
Clara L Haines, 

C. Jeannette Hoover, 
R. Alverda Kanarr, 
Ella J. Kelly, 
Emily S. M'Mullen, 
Mary Meister, 
Laura A. Munson, 
Flora V. Ostheim, 
Bertha M. Samson, 
Frances M. Sener, 
Edna E. Shaub, 
Anna B. Shirk, 

A. Irene Singleton, 
M. Ethel Stamm, 
Stella Swords, 
Lilian Killian, 
Cora M. Beck, 
Elizabeth M. Simon, 
Sigmund S. Albert, 
John M. Ammon, 
John Howard Bursk, 
William G. Fox, 
Carl E. Fritchey, 
James F. Gable, 
William L. Haldy, 
Milton T. Kamm, 
Horace C. Kinzer, 
Charles S. Martin, 
William W. Oster, 
Harold D. Pyott, 
Elmer S. Rowe, 
North W. Shatter, 
Reah Weber, 
John E. Woerth. 

Class of 1897. 
Helen A. Brown, 
Mary Belle Brock. 
Mary C. Bolenius, 
Katherine L. Foltz, 
Bertha I. Gerber, 
Helen M. Holahan, 



Mable Gray Hall, 
Inez M. Kichl, 
Mabel M. Kendig, 
Maude M. Marshall, 
Lilian A. Marion, 
Nellie A. Pontz, 
Annie E. Ranck, 
Salome B. Rhoads, 
Maude W. Stamy, 
Mabel Smeltz, 
Mabel A. Will, 
E. Bessie Witmer, 
Anna A. Wylie, 
Bessie I. Snavely, 
Margaret H. Brown, 
Emil Bolin, 
John H. Borger, 
Newton W. Buch, 
John W. Christ, 
Frank C. Dukeman, 
Harry R. Everts, 
Charles E. Hoak, 
Charles E. Ilyus, 
Howard J. Lowell, 
Harry L. Mowery, 
Robert Reist, 
Charles E. Rupp, 
J. Clifton Ryan, 
Walter J. Shreiner, 
Charles C. Staufifer, 
Walter M. Steigerwalt, 
Bertram W. Steigerwalt, 
Morris C. Sulcov, 
Robert F. Zahm, 
* Ralph W. Zook, 
Andrew E. Biggs, 
Frank A. Suter, 
H. A. Ruthart, 
Frank Halbach, 
Charles M'Graw. 

Class of 1898 
Elizabeth O. Hartman, 
Louella G. Fowler, 
*Emma L. Burrowes, 
Florence H. Diverty, 
Mable E. Hartmyer, 
Daisy E. Hoffmeier, 
Fanny V. Herzog, 
Roseine S. Knight, 
Nellie M. Krauskop, 
Mary G. Metzger, 
Blanche B. Mearig, 
S. Katharine Mull, 
Anna S. Rehm, 



440 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Ella M. Rohrer, 
Miriam Shaub, 
Anna C. Sherts, 
Dolsie M. Shirk, 
Helen A. Thurlow, 
Blanche Hostetter, 
Harvey C. Adams, 
Arthur G. Buchman, 
Daniel R. Baker, 
John M. Binkley, 
John G. Burie, 
Stewart W. Calder, 
James N. Downey, 
Samuel R. Fraim. 
Warren F. Hubley, 
Frank B. Hoak, 
Thomas B. Jefferies, 
Burch R. Kieffer, 
Augustine J. Lowell, 
G. Albert Raub, 
Charles E. Rudy. 

Class of 1899. 
Ellen H. Byrne, 
Barbara A. Brubaker, 
Lillian M. Beaner, 
Lillie A. Bergman, 
Bessie A. Bitner, 
Helen E. Cooper, 
Nellie E. Coho, 
Helen G. Diffenderfer, 
Marion G. Downey, 
Maude P. Eichler, 
Emma H. Fry, 
Anna M. Guthrie, 
M. Katharine Hoar, 
Mary S. Haldy, 
Bertie M. Ilyus, 
Bertha M. Banzhoof, 
Minerva M. Denlinger, 
L. Sophia Eby, 
Eleanore J. Fulton, 
Anna M. Green, 
Louise C. Kappler, 
M. May Liphart, 
Effie 1. Miller, 
Eleanore L. Miller, 
Mary C. Nessly, 
Lillie M. Nixdorf, 
Nellie L. Oster, 
Elizabeth G. Ricksecker, 
Mary J. Samson, 
Mary E. Seiple, 
Grace M. Seiple, 
Eva M. Singleton, 



Clara H. Slaugh, 
Adele K. Smith, 
Mabel S. Stehman, 
Margaret S. Witmer, 
Elizabeth C. Wohlsen, 
Florence W. Yost, 
John J. Brillhart, 
Walter R. Fickes, 
Roger B. Hollinger, 
William F. Kohler, 
Charles L Leonard, 
David F. Magee, 
Claude H. Markley, 
John R. B. Martin, 
O. W. M'Elroy, 
John C. Raymond, 
Raymond G. Rutter, 
George B. Sachs, 
John Ralph Stamy, 
Walter S. Wappenstein, 
Luther F. L. Witmer, 
*Roman A. Boddy. 

Class of 1900. 
Florence H. Binkley, 
Elsie G. Book, 
kathryn L Bitzer, 
Kathryn M. Boos, 
Harriet E. Brant, 
Adele S. Everts, 
Blanche A. Frailey, 
Mary Belle Guthrie, 
Mabel M. Hartman, 
Anna L. Hieland, 
M. Eva Herr, 
Ida Hess, 
Emilie Holahan, 
Lillian R. McFalls, 
Elsie L. McMichael, 
Louise E. Miller, 
Frances H. Nissley, 
Jessie E. Schindle, 
Gertrude H. Sener, 
E. Floy Senft, 
Anna M. Stark, 
Mabel H. Stewart, 
Mary C. Swords, 
Edith E. Zimmerman, 
John W. Beyer, 
Walter S. Capp, 
Ralph W. Cummings, 
Eugene Evans, 
George E. Francis, 
John Fulton, 
Walter E. Gompf, 



APPENDIX. 



441 



Harry (j. Hasting, 
J. B. Kauffman, 
Frank B. Kreider, 
Walter S. M'Kinney, 
Ernst H. Miller, 
William K. Myers, 
Willis G. Newhold, 
Clifford L. Schuin, 
Fred W. Steigerwalt, 
William F. Trost, 
Walter L. Weaver, 
Joseph H. Woods. 

Class of igoi. 
Katharine Brown, 
Amy G. Bartholomew, 
Myrtle M. Adams, 
Olive J. Bonine, 
*Elsie M. Bauman. 
Amelia C. Bertschi, 
Lula G. Bausman, 
Edna P. Carpenter, 
Sue E. Fralich, 
Liela M. Frantz, 
Lillian D. Freund, 
Stella Gingrich. 
Mathilde Globisch, 
Annie J. Heinitsh, 
Bertha M. Hostetler, 

C. Elizabeth Hoyler, 
May B. Harthorn, 
Grace R. Harthorn. 
Clara H. Kiefifer, 
Jessie A. Koch, 

M. Blanche M'Michacl, 
Edna A. Miles, 
M. Maud Mentzer, 
*All3erta W. Paden. 
Mary F. Slaugh, 
Mary W. Smith. 
Gertrude L. Siegler, 
Flora Scherff, 
Mary K. Strine, 
Minnie Sulcov, 
Minnie R. Wise, 
Jennie M. Kieffer, 
Mabel E. Zecher, 
Lewis H. Abel, 
John W. Appel, 
J. J. Crumbaugh, 

D. M. Dukeman. 

E. S. Eshleman, 
Charles S. Hoffman, 
Paul H. Keppel. 
Kirwin W. Kinard, 



R. S. Schnadcr, 
Warren E. Snyder, 
Frank F. Shue, 
William E. Zecher, 
Walter R. Markley, 
John W. Reith, 
James L Pyle. 

Class of 1902. 
Dorothea S. Albert, 
Estella M. Astrich, 
Marie C. Bitner, 
Irene Boos, 
Emma M. Butz, 
Helen A. Downey, 
Caroline O. Dundore, 
Florence E. Elliott, 
Bertha L. Feagley, 
Mattie E. Cast, 
Isabel K. Hackelton, 
Cora E. Hebble, 
Margie E. Hergenrother, 
Margaret M. Hostettcr, 
Margaret I. Hunter, 
Elsie M. Kindig, 
Elizalieth C. Kinzcr, 
Mary A. Long, 
Mary R. Lyte, 
Myrtle V. Martin, 
Blanche D. Marshall, 
A. Amelia Noll, 
Isabel G. Nowlen, 
Mary E. Oster, 
Anna Pirosh, 
Alexandra Pirosh, 
Sue E. Roy, 
Mell C. Seiple, 
*M. Cecilia Sener, 
Lillie M. Sholty, 
S. Grace Sneath, 
Bessie L. Weaver, 
Mary L. Weber, 
Anna Whitaker. 
Florence M. Wiseman, 
Ralph W. E. Aston, 
James T. Donahue, 
George E. Forrest, 
Edw. M. Hubley, 
George H. Kroeger, 
Samuel Lurio, 
John M'Kechnie. 
Lewis J. Pollock, 
Edward W. Pyfer, 
Walter C. Roy, 
*Charles W. Sener, 



442 



THE LANCASTER FREE SCHOOLS. 



Arthur M. Smith, 
Lloyd H. Snyder, 
John H. Sweigert, 
Merle B. Villee, 
Harry A. Webster, 

Class of 1903. 

Yetta Berman, 

Sue W. Cummings, 

Irene C. Diffenderfer, 

Jennie M. Deiter, 

M. Elva Dorwart, 

Elsie Feagley, 

Esther E. Frailey, 

Edna A. Gipple, 

Abigail F. Haldy, 

Anna M. Haller, 

Theresa A. Haun, 

Agnes M. Huber, 

Marion B. Killian, 

Elizabeth A. Kahl, 

Mary C. Milleysack, 

Ellen I. M'Allister, 

Georgie L. Reist, 

Anna E. Rohrer, 

Charlotte L Rohrer, 

Charlotte Smith, 

Carolyn M. Stanian, 

Sadie E. Sweigert, 

M. Catharine Wirth, 
Ida M. Woods, 
Mabel L. Young, 
Arthur A. Adams, 
W. Eugene Blickenderfer, 
Adolph C. Darnistaetter, 
Arthur M. Deen, 
George A. Gollatz, 
Walter P. Haun, 
Paul H. Heisey, 
Philip H. Hoefel, 
Bernard M. Hook, 
Walter R. Kendig, 
B. Frank Kline, 
James F. Magee, 
Howard W. Miesse, 
Stuart H. Raub, 
J. Howard Riddle, 
Earle V. Ryan, 
Gardner A. Sayres, 
Lewis M. Shear, 
Robert W. Steigerwalt, 
A. Bard Steigerwalt, 
Samuel Wiley, 
Walter C. Zimmerman. 



Class of 1904. 
Bessie M. Alrich, 
Amelia L. Aukamp, 
Margaret E. Aukamp, 
Eva J. Cummings, 
Mary G. Cummings, 
Jennie M. Gotshall, 
Helen G. Guthrie, 
Florence M. Haines, 
M. Helen Henwood, 
A. Miriam Herr, 
Mary E. Hoak, 
Miriam A. Hoover, 
Annie M. Kendig, 
Elizabeth L. Knight, 
Mary G. Kroeger, 
Ada R. Leaman, 
Florence I. Mentzer, 
Anna L. Metzler, 
Esther L. Metzler, 
Edna G. Miller, 
Jennie C. Myers, 
Laura H. M'Allister, 
Linnie G. Nagle, 
Mable M. Patterson, 
Clara K. Remly, 
Anna A. Rogers, 
Mabel C. Schriver, 
Anna E. Smith, 
Sarah G. Swords, 
Adele H. E. Tapper, 
Lilian B. Thompson, 
Maria W. Weaver, 
Adeline P. Weill, 
Margaret D. Weitzel, 
Laura D. Wohlsen, 
Margaret E. Zecher, 
Ivan Adams, 
Albert G. Bowers, 
Howard H. Bowman, 
Walter R. Cooke, 
Isaac S. Diller, 
John W. Eckenrode, 
Ira P. Groff, 
Harry R. Haldy, 
Wm. W. Haun, 
Leon C. Heller, 
George F. Kaufhold, 
Warren F. Kindig, 
John I. Long, 
James H. Milliken, 
Albert C. Peterson, 
E. Ross Ranck, 
Clarence H. Smith, 
Edward E. Stehman, 
Peter N. Wohlsen. 



8 1905 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



022 127 085 



